Lonesome Freedom
by HaveYouBeenAnAlumnus
Summary: Why do people always desire freedom over anything? Being free means you're on your own. With no one to protect you from a cold world. (Summary way more depressing than actual story)
1. Moving on

**Part 1**

 **Chapter 1: Moving on**

Kyd Wykkyd was brutally pulled out of his meditation by a loud crash. His eyes flew open and he looked around his room searching for the source of the sound. It came from the direction of the training center. He stood up and made his way to his door. The floor suddenly began to tremble and Kyd almost fell, only preventing that by grabbing on to his desk. The lights began to flicker as he reached his door and opened it. He stumbled out into the hexagonal hallway to see that several other students had come out of their rooms as well.

The demon boy walked up to I.N.S.T.I.G.A.T.O.R. and See-More, the latter of which was staring at the wall with his X-ray eye. As he turned back to his normal eye, Kyd gave him a questioning look.

"Not good," his one-eyed friend said. "The Teen Titans are fighting the Headmaster. The entire Training Arena is collapsing! It's only a matter of time before the entire Academy comes down upon us!"

"I ain't stayin' here! Every man for himself!" Billy Numerous yelled as he ran away through the hallway.

"Wait for me, Billy!" several duplications of Billy screamed as they followed the other.

I.N.S.T.I.G.A.T.O.R. made a grunting sound as he made his escape by smashing his way through a wall.

See-More ran in the direction of the exit as well. "You coming, buddy?" See-More asked Kyd as he turned around to wait for him.

Kyd shook his head before running in the opposite direction, only thinking of one thing. _Angel_.

oo0O0oo

Kyd received many weird looks from his fellow students as he ran against the stream. He had to roughly push aside some of them, and he was almost run over by Wrestling Star, but he eventually reached the door to Angel's room. He tried to push the button to open it, but the turned-off light next to the button told him the door mechanisms were down.

He was about to try and teleport into the room, when a strong blast of air caused the door to fly out into the wall. Shortly after, Angel walked out, her wings shrinking back to their normal size. "Kyd!" she said, relieved, when she saw him.

Another shockwave was sent through the H.I.V.E. Academy, and a menacing crack appeared in the ceiling above them.

"We should go," Angel said as she walked up to Kyd Wykkyd and placed her hands on his shoulder. He wrapped his cape around them, and they teleported away, seconds before chunks of reinforced concrete rained down where they had been standing.

oo0O0oo

Angel and Kyd Wykkyd watched from a rooftop how smoke arose from the gaping hole that was once the underground H.I.V.E. Academy for Extraordinary Young People. Kyd sighed and sat down on the edge of the roof. He took of his headpiece, letting the wind blow through his raven hair. "What are we going to do now?" he asked.

Angel smiled, as she always did when he opened up. She was one of the only people who ever had the privilege of seeing him without his mask or hearing his voice. She sat down next to him. "I guess that, with the Academy gone, we can go our own ways."

"You mean… go freelance?"

Angel nodded. "Look," she said as she pointed down at the street, where XL Terrestrial was sneaking away through the growing crowd of curious bystanders that gathered around the ruined school. "Everyone is going away on their own." She chuckled. "I guess you could see this as our graduation."

"But… we can't just leave like that… What if the Headmaster rebuilds the Academy?"

"Honestly, Kyd, I've been wanting to get away from that pit for a long time. We're free now."

 _Free. Free._ It sounded so strange… as if they had been prisoners before. But the H.I.V.E. Academy had been the only home he had for years. When he first joined the Academy, back when there was a Headmistress, he felt like he had finally found somewhere he belonged, where he was appreciated. But now… now he was on his own again.

"You don't have to be alone," Angel said as if she was reading his mind. "You know," she started, enthusiasm building up in her voice, "I happen to have this lovely place in Crown City…"

"Crown City?" Kyd asked as he looked up at her.

"Yeah. It's just a few miles northeast. You should be able to teleport there, right?"

"I guess."

"Plus, they don't have that many superheroes there. Or do you want to have the Teen Titans on your back all the time?"

"No." Kyd looked down at the mess on the street one last time, and then resolutely looked at the skyline of Crown City in the distance. "Let's go then."

oo0O0oo

Only minutes later, the two teen villains found themselves standing in front of a shady apartment building. Only a few windows displayed any light sources in the six story building.

"Is this it?" Kyd asked.

"Yes," Angel confirmed. "Third floor. Apartment 3B."

Inside the main hall, there was a row of mailboxes. Most of them were stuffed with flyers and publicity, others didn't even have a door. Angel opened mailbox 3B, which was already unlocked, and took out a letter. "Well look at this," she said. "I've got mail."

They walked further into the building. A note was pinned to the wall next to a boarded doorway, saying _Elevator out of order_ , which was a bit unnecessary, since the entire elevator was simply… missing.

"Well… Let's walk then," Angel optimistically said as she started to climb the steep, narrow staircase. Kyd reluctantly followed, knowing it would cost him more energy to teleport up.

As they climbed the stairs, they could hear faraway sounds, such as a dog barking, a man shouting, and a baby crying, not really helping the already rather unpleasant atmosphere.

"Angel, this is not exactly the kind of eerie I like," Kyd said to his friend. "This place seriously creeps me out, and that is saying a lot."

"Shut it. You can be glad you have a friend like me, who offers you a place to stay."

They arrived on the third floor. Kyd looked at the door of the apartment. 3B, it said in a dull golden color. On the wall, there was a simple black button with a sticker next to it. _Roberts_.

"Well…" Angel said. She reached out and pushed the button. A soft buzzing sound could be heard behind the door, but nothing happened. "I guess I could expect that…" She kneeled down and took a quick glance underneath the ragged doormat. When she stood back up, she turned to Kyd with a nervous tone. "Could you, um… Do you think you could teleport us inside?"

"What?" Kyd asked. "Angel, what is all this? I thought you said you _owned_ this place."

"Well, I do… technically. But, I mean… I don't really have full access… to any keys… until my dad gets out of Gotham prison."

"What? And how long would that be?"

"I don't know, okay? Just get us inside, there will probably be a key there somewhere!"

Kyd sighed. "Fine. Grab on."

Surprisingly enough, the inside of the apartment looked a lot less murdery than the rest of the building, despite the fact that there apparently hadn't been anyone in years. It was basically what you'd expect a cheap apartment in a large city to be. A living room with a couch and a TV, a small adjacent kitchen, and a door that lead to what seemed to be the bath- and bedrooms. Angel switched on the lights, and they actually worked.

"Wow," she said as she walked into the kitchen. "Nothing seems to have changed in here." She opened the fridge and took out a carton of milk. There was a photo of a girl with small white wings, accompanied by a man with large, black-feathered wings, both smiling at the camera, attached with a magnet to the door of the fridge. Said fridge had clearly been shut off, and as soon as Angel opened the carton, an unpleasant smell spread through the room. Angel pulled a face and placed the carton on the table after closing it.

"That's right," Angel said as she grabbed an envelope from her pocket. "I've got a letter to read."

Kyd Wykkyd took a closer inspection to the milk while his friend tore open the envelope and started reading. "No wonder it smells this bad," Kyd said as he spotted small printing, "This milk's expiration date was almost four years ago! Wait…" He looked up, and saw Angel staring at the letter, her yellow eyes getting wet. Kyd walked up behind her to take a look at it himself.

 _Dear Mrs. Roberts,_

 _It is our unpleasant duty to inform you that your father has been captured for his crimes in Gotham City, and was sentenced to a double life sentence in Blackgate Penitentiary, Gotham City. If you read this letter, please report to the Crown City Police Station. There will be taken care of you there. You will not be interrogated, you will not be punished. You will get the chance to talk to your father._

 _You have our fullest support,_

 _Commissioner James W. Gordon, GCPD_

 _Commissioner Henry J. Parkinson, CCPD_

"This letter," Angel said in a trembling voice, "It was sent five days after my dad sent me to the H.I.V.E. Academy… He must've known this was coming…"

She sobbed, and Kyd put his arm around your shoulder. "They sent you this letter, because you disappeared from the radar…" he said.

Angel nodded. "He sent me to the H.I.V.E., so I could be myself… so I wouldn't have to hide this," she said as she pointed to the white extensions on her back.

"But… How did you know your dad was in jail?"

"Two months after I joined the Academy, I asked the Headmistress if I could ever visit my dad. She said it was impossible, because, well…" She folded up the letter and threw it in the trash. "I was kind of hoping he'd be out already. I didn't expect a double life sentence."

"Can't you still go visit him? I can always teleport you there…"

"No. My wings grew too big to hide them, and if that Gordon guy saw me, he'd start asking questions." She opened the fridge again and started throwing stuff away. "Same goes for that Parkinson guy, for that matter. We'll have to be careful not to draw too much police attention to us."

"I don't think that was our intention, was it?" Kyd jokingly said.

"You're right," Angel smiled. "Robbing a jewelry store requires a lot of subtlety and stealth, which we happen to have plenty of."

"Well," said Kyd, "What are we waiting for, then?"

oo0O0oo

 **A/N:** A few quick notes before the rest of the story:

The first four or five chapters will be the what happens during season 3 to 5, but after that, I will continue Kyd's story. So 'Part 1' is before the Brotherhood of Evil battle, 'Part 2' is after.

I know I promised you Hot Spot, but he probably won't be appearing much during Part 1. Just bear with me.

Yes, I totally friendzoned Kyd, and I did that on purpose because I don't mean to depict Angel as his love interest in this story. That role is for someone else… (smiles mysteriously)

No, I did not use this story as an excuse to watch every episode with Kyd Wykkyd in it again for 'research purposes'. Totally didn't.

Thanks and shout-out to gaybaconprincess for giving me advice, and also for opening my eyes to the full potential of Kyd Wykkyd, and what kind of character he really is.

Unfortunately, due to planned travelling, the next couple of weeks will be very busy, so I won't update that much.


	2. The Plan

**A/N:** Okay guys. Before we get to the second chapter of the story, could I have your attention for a few seconds to ask WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL? Here's what happened:

About an hour or so after I uploaded the first chapter, I checked my email and saw that no less than 7 guest reviews had been posted. I got excited, of course, but then… I saw the reviews. They were not negative, that's not the reason my excitement quickly melted away, but they just… confused me, that's really the only word I can think of.

The 7 reviews were from the same person, a guest with the name 'anon', and they were long. And I do mean VERY long. I copied and pasted them into a Word file (I can always send it to you if you want it), and they added up to A BAFFLING TOTAL OF 9134 WORDS.

I did not read everything, but I scrolled through. The so-called 'reviews' were definitely about DC, so much was clear, but the majority was about DC-stuff that did not appear in Teen Titans. And most of all, NONE of it had ANYTHING to do with my story. Using Ctrl+F, I learned that Kyd Wykkyd was mentioned once, and Angel zero times.

From what I understood, it was mostly about why Lex Luthor isn't really a villain, why many superheroes are the real villains, comparing villains, comparing heroes, why Batman's no-killing-rule is stupid, about shipping at some point, and even about Marvel's Nick Fury at several points. Here's an unaltered extract from review 1:

 _I'm glad the government has Suicide Squad, Cadmus, Checkmate, the Elite, Amanda Waller, and the new female Spy Smasher, Cameron Chase I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting accountability from superheroes, having checks and balances on these living breathing weapons of mass destruction seems quite reasonable to me one will go left when they should go right and innocent people will die it WILL happen, not saying black ops don't have their necessity they can be used as a force of good_

Now here's a part about Lexy from review 4:

 _It was Luthor who put an end to No Man's Land by flying his helicopter into the middle of it and literally throwing money at the problem, he was the one who made Gotham more modern efficient, and effective, though less beautiful artistically, there was someone who was so obsessed with Gotham's architecture that he murdered some of Luthor's builders_

(Yeah, the sentences literally stop that suddenly) And here's a bonus from review 6:

 _The world needs men like Luthor not men like Batman check out Extermination from Boom_

At the end, it got even weirder, the pro-Luthor propaganda turning into random lists of words from superheroes, fantasy stuff, lightsabers and Fairly OddParents.

Fortunately, this site comes with a button to delete guest reviews before they become public, and I have put it to good use. To the person who wrote these reviews (or at least copy-pasted them from somewhere, I may hope): I don't know what you were thinking when you posted these, but could you please not do this? Reviews are always appreciated, whether they are positive or criticizing, but please only post things that have to do with the story?

Now, I hope you (the reader) haven't left yet, let's finally get going with the story.

oo0O0oo

 **Part 1**

 **Chapter 2: The Plan**

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty."

Kyd Wykkyd squeezed his eyes shut against the light that poured into the room when Angel opened the curtains. He muttered something incoherent as he turned on his side, away from the window, and pulled the sheets up to his chin. Kyd Wykkyd was many things, but a morning person definitely wasn't one of them.

It didn't help, of course, that the duo had been up until 5 a.m. the previous night. Villains have to 'work', if you know what I mean.

"How late is it?" Angel managed to understand from the sad pile of tiredness that was Kyd Wykkyd.

"2 p.m." she answered.

Kyd grunted as he rolled onto his back and opened his red eyes ever so slightly. "Breakfast?" he asked, not even bothering to make a full sentence.

"At this ungodly hour, I very much doubt you could call it 'breakfast', but there is definitely some food on the table." With that, she left the room.

Kyd sat up in his bed and looked around his room. Or, rather, Mr. Roberts' room. They had agreed that Angel would sleep in her old room, and that Kyd could sleep in her father's bed. They had thrown out all the rotten, moldy food and given the place a thorough cleaning. It had been more than two months now since the H.I.V.E. Academy had fallen, and Kyd was starting to get used to his new life. He even had an awkward encounter with the man who lived across the hall in apartment 3A. Apparently his name was Ivan and judging by the amount of beer he was dragging up the stairs when Kyd met him he spent most of his time drinking (which was a good thing, or he might start to question a boy with grey skin and red eyes and a girl with wings living across the hall).

A couple of minutes after his sudden awakening, Kyd found himself eating in front of their brand new (totally not stolen) flat screen TV.

" _Last night, the Teen Titans saved the world once again, from an alien invasion. Cat Grant is in Jump City._ "

The screen switched to the blonde woman standing next to a well-known green shapeshifter, holding a microphone. " _Indeed, Iris. I am here with Beast Boy, who played a major part in stopping the aliens. Beast Boy, what exactly happened?_ "

" _Dudes, it was totally awesome! So this guy called 'The Source' produced all these Bob clones and sent spaceships to abduct cows and build a machine to destroy humanity and stuff, but I singlehandedly defeated the entire army!_ "

" _And where is The Source now?_ "

" _Uh… Cyborg put him away in his most secured cell, isn't that right, Cyborg? You know what I'm talking about, right?_ "

" _Shut it, Beast Boy!_ " the half-metal man in the background shouted. " _You should've warned me in time! Do you know how many times I've wanted to throw up since that happened?_ "

 _Wait a second_ , Kyd Wykkyd thought. He recognized that voice, even though he had never really met the Teen Titans in person.

"Okay Kyd listen up…" came the voice of Angel as she stepped in front of the TV, but she was silenced by Kyd holding up his hand to shut her up. "What?" she asked.

"It was Cyborg…" Kyd slowly spoke as he stared at the TV past Angel's body.

"What?"

"The new guy, Stone. The guy who had the guts to embarrass the favorites-trio in the cafeteria."

Angel looked confused.

"Cyborg infiltrated the Academy!" Kyd realized. "It's his fault the H.I.V.E. was destroyed!"

"Okay Kyd, calm down. What does it matter? We already knew it were the Teen Titans who attacked us that day."

"I guess. What were you going to say?"

"Okay," Angel said as she switched off the TV and sat down to face Kyd Wykkyd. "The last few months, we have been stealing stuff for our own comfort," she said, pointing at the expensive TV and several other brand new household objects scattered around the apartment. "But I think it's time we move on to the more serious stuff. Stealing and dealing, know what I mean?"

Kyd nodded, not knowing where she was heading.

"It's time for our first real supervillain action!" she said enthusiastically, "Project Crown Jewels!"

Kyd almost choked on his breakfast. "We're going to steal the crown jewels?" he asked.

"No, silly, that's just the codename I gave it. We'll be infiltrating this," she said as she turned the screen of her (also very new) laptop towards Kyd. A PowerPoint slide showed a picture of a tall tower. "Crown Tower," she finished.

Kyd Wykkyd waited for her to continue, while she waited for him to show any form of reaction. "And?" Kyd eventually asked. "Why would we do that?"

"Crown Tower is the highest tower in all of Crown City, and home to the local department of Wayne Enterprises," Angel explained as she proceeded through her PowerPoint. "And it houses the Cadynski Vault."

"The what?"

"The Cadynski Vault!"

"Which is?"

"Seriously, Kyd, have you paid any attention during vault-classes in the Academy?"

Kyd just shrugged as he continued to eat.

"The Cadynski Vault is the most secured vault in the entire region."

"And it contains jewels?"

"What? No, why would it?"

"Because the operation is 'Project Crown Jewels'."

"No, for the last time, that's just the codename. What's inside is way more valuable."

"Then what is it?"

"Information, Kyd! Files! Documents!"

"About what?"

"If I remember correctly, it has floorplans of some of the most important buildings in the area. Grandgate Prison, for example, Crown Tower itself…" She paused and looked at Kyd with a smirk. "And Titans Tower."

"Great," said Kyd, who was done eating. "If only we had access to those floorplans _before_ we have to infiltrate a highly secured building."

"Not so fast, my friend. I happen to have a rough version of the blueprints of the building –and the vault."

"Where did you get that?"

"Not me," she said as she walked up to the couch. "Move it," she said to Kyd Wykkyd. Kyd stood up from the couch, and Angel lifted the cushion he had been sitting on to reveal a safe underneath it. "My dad."

Kyd watched with an open mouth as Angel entered the code and opened the safe. "You even know the code?"

"Easy to guess. It's my birthday." She took out a folder. "I have already thought out a little strategy."

"So let me get this straight: you found a safe inside the sofa, found out the code, made a heist plan, and even made a freakin' PowerPoint, without me knowing any of it?"

"I gotta have something on my hands when you sleep until ungodly hours."

"I've always been more used to being awake at night, okay? Anyway, what are we gonna do with all these blueprints once we have them?"

"There are a lot of baddies out there who are willing to pay a fortune for them," Angel answered, and then added with a smile, "But I'm sure we could put some of them to good use ourselves."

"Okay," Kyd said, finally starting to get interested in the operation. "So what's the plan? I teleport in and out of the safe?"

"Do you honestly think it'll be that easy, Kyd? This safe is villain-proof. Bruce Wayne's finest technology with sensors, cameras and locks. The entire vault is coated in a layer of barmathium, which prevents entities from teleporting inside and also makes portal-opening on the interior of the vault impossible. The door can withstand the power of Mammoth, I.N.S.T.I.G.A.T.O.R. and Wrestling Star combined, times three."

"Okay. Strong door."

"The vault's code changes every day, only known by the main gatekeeper, and Bruce Wayne himself, who creates the code and passes it on to the gatekeeper."

"How can you see that on a blueprint?"

"Right here," Angel said as she showed him some scribbles; the same handwriting Kyd had seen on the papers in his room. "The vault is located on level minus three of the tower. There are security cameras all over the place, and enough guards to fill all the vacant apartments in this building."

"Wow, that's a lot." Kyd sometimes almost got the feeling the two of them, along with Ivan, were the only inhabitants of the building. The annoying noises he heard on the nights he was home told him otherwise, though.

"As soon as you teleport anywhere on that floor, you will be spotted by a dozen of cameras, heat-, motion- and sound-detectors, and tasered by five different guards."

"When will you get to the part where you tell me just how we're _actually_ going to pull this off?"

"Right now. In order to get down there, we have to go up," Angel said as she showed a map of the second highest floor. "This is the office of the Deputy General Manager."

"And what are we going to do with him?"

"Nothing," Angel said with a smile, "But they don't know that."

oo0O0oo

After the entire plan had been explained, Kyd sat back in his chair. "Well, Angel, I'm impressed. This is quite a complicated plan."

"But do you think it'll work?"

"No," Kyd dryly said. "But it's worth a try," he added with a smile. "When will we strike?"

"Monday. In three days."

"Why then?"

"Because I'm not working on weekends."

Kyd chuckled and looked out of the window. The sun had started to set already. "I think I'll go to bed a little earlier today," he said as he got up. "I'll try to wake up at a godly hour tomorrow."

"Not so fast," Angel said when Kyd wanted to walk away.

"What, do you want a goodnight kiss or something?"

"No," she said as she tossed his headpiece in his direction. He caught it as she placed her own silver helmet over her head. "We will need some equipment for the job. Equipment we don't have in our possession right now."

Kyd grunted. "I thought you didn't work on weekends."

"It's only Friday evening."

oo0O0oo

 **A/N:** If you don't get the joke about The Source, you're not a real fan.

The story will be humorous at times (because that's what I'm generally best at), but there will be angsty and dramatic moments as well, so beware.

Reviews are appreciated! Just have them make sense please!


	3. Project Crown Jewels

**Part 1**

 **Chapter 3: Project Crown Jewels**

"This is Shadow to Halo. Do you copy?"

"Halo to Shadow, loud and clear."

"Mission is clear, you go in at seven o'clock."

"Okay. Good luck, Kyd."

"Shadow."

"Shadow, sorry."

Kyd switched off his earpiece and looked out over the rooftops. Crown Tower stood proudly between the other apartment blocks and office buildings. Today was the day.

oo0O0oo

The receptionist looked up from her computer and smiled at the young woman at the other side of the desk. She had pale blonde hair, almost white, and her eyes were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, I came here to speak to the Deputy Assistant Manager."

"Mr. Baker?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Can I have your name, please?"

"Wyatt. Anna Wyatt."

"Just a moment." The lady picked up the phone and put it next to her ear. "Mr. Baker, there is a young lady here to speak to you, a Mrs. Wyatt… Yes… Okay…" She hung up. "Mr. Baker is free at the moment. Floor fifty-two."

"Thank you," 'Anna Wyatt' said as she started walking towards the elevator.

"But," the receptionist said before she could leave, "I'll have to ask you to let us check your luggage." She pointed at the backpack she was carrying.

"Oh, sure."

A security guard came from the side and showed her the way to a smaller room. They walked in and he closed the door.

"Can you take that off, please," the guard asked, pointing at the backpack.

"Ugh, that's such a pain. Can't you just check it? Please?" she asked in her most convincing voice.

The guard agreed and walked up behind her. He opened the backpack, but was surprised to find a bunch of white feathers inside. "What the…"

He didn't get any further before the feathers suddenly came to life, and he was knocked in the face by a wing that seemed to grow out of the bag.

Angel wasted no time using her other wing to cover up the camera in the corner of the room. A cracking sound came from the camera.

"Oops," Angel said. "Clumsy me."

She walked out of the room, back into the lobby. She smiled at the receptionist briefly before walking into the nearest vacant elevator and pressing number fifty-two. After the doors closed, she brought her hand to her earpiece. "Okay, Shadow, I'm in. And Mr. Baker is free for a visit."

"Give him the time of his life, Halo."

oo0O0oo

"Come in."

Angel stepped into the neat looking office. "Thank you for seeing me," she said to the man sitting behind the desk.

"No problem," Mr. Baker said as he took off his glasses. "What is it that you want to discuss with me?"

Angel reached behind her back and grabbed her helmet from her backpack. Mr. Baker looked at her actions suspiciously. When she took off her sunglasses to reveal a pair of yellow eyes, he was clearly scared.

"I wanted to discuss how much your life is worth."

With that, Mr. Baker reached underneath his desk and pushed a button, causing an alarm to go off.

Angel laughed. "You think that'll save you?" Her wings grew larger and she flew at him, knocking over the desk and the chair, with the man in it.

"Please," he cried as he looked up at her in fear. "Spare me!"

Angel lifted her wings high up in the air before slamming them down onto the poor man. When she took her wings off him, he was completely still.

"Okay, Shadow, target is down. Your turn."

oo0O0oo

"That's odd," the man behind the monitor said to his colleague. "Camera four is down."

"See if you can get it back online," the other said. "It probably has to do with…"

He was interrupted by a beeping sound. The two men were immediately alerted and their eyes scanned the monitors for the cause. "It's Baker!" one of them said. "He's being attacked by… something with wings!"

"Units needed on floor fifty-two!" the other yelled into his walkie-talkie. "Send as many as quickly as possible! Matter of life and death!"

"What is that thing?" the first man asked, mere seconds before a new series of beeps came from another different device.

"What's that?"

"Intruder on level minus two! Wait… Minus one! No, minus three! He's all over the place! All the sensors are triggered!"

"Extra security to the vault! I repeat, extra security to Cadynski Vault!"

" _Control, should we go up or down?_ " it sounded through the walkie-talkie.

The two men looked at each other. "What's more important? His life, or the files?" one of them asked.

The other took another look at the winged woman and the fast-moving shadow on the screens. He grabbed the communicator. "I want one team going up in the staff elevator, shut off all the other ones. All other units, get down there! And call the goddamn police!"

oo0O0oo

Kyd stopped teleporting when he was sure he had alerted most of the sensors, and found himself on the correct level. He took a look at the wall, where a sign said 'Cadynski Vault' with an arrow to the right. _Well that's convenient_ , Kyd thought.

He followed the corridor. If he was not mistaken, the vault should be right around the corner… along with a dozen of guards. He smiled. This was going to be interesting.

oo0O0oo

Angel easily lifted the unconscious man, while alarms were going off throughout the building. Kyd had done a good job at confusing everyone, it seemed. She walked up to the elevators. The leftmost was going up. She was going to have company.

A press on the elevator's button revealed what she had suspected: they had been shut down. _I guess I'll have to find another way_ , she thought as she used her powerful wings to force apart one of the elevator doors. With a look down the shaft, she saw the elevator with the guards approaching at a high speed. She took a deep breath… and dived down into the elevator shaft.

She rushed past the rising elevator, clamping her hostage against her chest. When she saw the bottom approaching, she let her wings grow to the largest size that could fit inside the shaft, and spread them out. She smoothly landed on the ground floor. _Good thing they have separate elevators for the underground floors_ , she thought. She forced open the door and walked into the lobby.

"Halt!" she shouted at the receptionist, who was holding the phone in her hand when she walked in. Several people screamed and dropped what they were doing. "If I see any cops in or around this building, I'll fly up this elevator shaft again and drop this man fifty-three stories down!" The receptionist slowly moved the phone away from her ear. "None of you will leave the building until you have my permission to," she said to the people who seemed to be more than eager to leave. _Come on, Shadow_ , she thought. _Teach them a lesson_.

oo0O0oo

" _Control, we have arrived on floor fifty-two. No one's here. She seems to have flown down_."

"Then get down!" the man behind the screens shouted. "But a few of you stay upstairs, in case she goes up again."

"Alpha three, how are things going at the vault?" the other man asked.

" _No sign yet, Control. No one appears to be he- wait!_ "

"Alpha three? What's happening?"

" _Black smoke is coming from around the corner…_ "

"Don't go check it out! Let them come for you!"

" _Copy that, Control. Everyone, stay pu-_ "

White noise filled the room.

"Alpha three!" the man yelled, panicking. "Alpha three, report!"

" _He's… can't… see… fast…_ "

The signal died. The two men in the control room looked at the cameras on level minus three, but the only cameras that were still working showed nothing but thick, black smoke.

oo0O0oo

 _This is almost too easy_ , Kyd Wykkyd thought. A fancy smoke bomb was enough to throw them off guard, and now he just had to teleport around, slapping the guns and tasers out of the guards' hands before knocking them out with a slash of his cape.

After he knocked out what seemed to be the last one, he looked at the man he had been saving for last. A man with a very round face and a moustache, keeping his gun aimed at Kyd.

"Don't move…" he said, not coming over as very threatening because of the fear in his voice.

Kyd just smirked as he teleported right behind the man. Dave, the gatekeeper, as it said on his badge, quickly turned around, but couldn't prevent his gun from flying out of his hands, and before he properly knew what was happening, he was hanging from the top of the building, Kyd Wykkyd tightly holding on to his shirt.

"You know the code," Kyd said in his most threatening, demonic voice. "What's the code to the vault?"

"I'm… I'm not telling you that!"

"You are hanging fifty-three levels above the ground. This is the kind of moment in your life where you have to think about your decisions very carefully."

The gatekeeper glanced down, almost fainting after seeing the height he was on. He gathered his courage. "I'm still not telling you."

Kyd didn't even blink as he let go, sending the man falling down to his death. As Dave screamed, he suddenly saw something black appearing next to him, and before he could see what was happening, he was hanging in the same place again, held by the same person.

"Next time, I won't save you."

"You can't kill me. You need me," the gatekeeper said with a grin. "Me and Bruce Wayne are the only people on this planet who know the code."

"It would only take me five seconds to make a trip to Gotham and get Wayne," Kyd said as he loosened his grip on Dave's shirt ever so slightly.

"Okay, okay!" he finally screamed as he felt himself slowly slipping out of Kyd's fingers. "It's an eight digit code! Seven-one-six-nine-three-nine-nine-three!"

Kyd said nothing for a few seconds, and then simply teleported away, letting Dave fall once again. Inside the building, he entered the code into the vault's locking system, taking his time. He waited for a second while the computer processed the code. ' _Access approved'_ it said on the screen.

"Shadow to Halo," he said to his companion, "Code's correct, I'm going in."

"Good job, Shadow."

"Oh, and by the way, Halo, I think I might've dropped something."

"Nice going, Shadow," Angel said as she rolled her eyes. She let go of Mr. Baker and started running towards the glass doors of the building, past all the terrified bystanders in the lobby. She unfolded her wings and jumped, flying right through the glass door, and making a ninety degree turn upwards when she was outside. She soon spotted a man approaching the ground with high velocity and she changed her route so that she would pass right next to him. She could hear him scream as she passed him, and she could vaguely understand 'help'. When she was past him, she made an elegant turn in the air, and flew down after him. She quickly caught up to the man and she stretched out her arms. Only a few meters before he hit the ground, she grabbed the man and she flew up again.

"Next time," Angel said as she deposited the still terrified man on top of the building, "Try not to piss off my friend. It could cost you your life."

oo0O0oo

Kyd wasn't kidding (see what I did there?) when he said that he felt as if he was in Ali Baba's cave. He was searching through the files, passing many interesting buildings and stuffing his favorites underneath his arm.

"Grandgate Prison… That's a keeper," he said to himself as he took out the file and added it to his collection. "Jump City Power Plant… Nice. And what do we have here… Ooh!" His excitement reached a peak when he found a document with an image of a large, T-shaped tower. He almost felt the urge to kiss the file, but he kept his dignity.

He was too preoccupied browsing through the file cabinet to notice that behind him, one of the guards had woken up.

oo0O0oo

" _Halo, you can return home, I'll be there in a minute with the loot._ "

"Okay, Shadow," Angel said as she flew through the air, high above the buildings. She suddenly realized how long it had been since she had been able to fly this freely. "Good job."

" _Couldn't have done it without you, Halo. Congratulations on this o-_ "

The connection disappeared, completely out of the blue. "Shadow?" Angel asked, concerned. "Shadow, do you hear me?" No answer. "Shadow? … Kyd?"

oo0O0oo

" _Control, this is Alpha three._ "

"Alpha three? Good to have you back online! What's your status?"

" _I… I think I have captured one of the criminals, Control._ "

"What? How?"

" _I shut the vault on him._ "

"Great job, Alpha three! Keep the vault locked at all times! Don't let him get away!"

" _What are you going to do, Control?_ "

"I think it's time for him to take a nap."

oo0O0oo

"Halo? Halo? Angel?"

Kyd desperately tried to get a signal. When he continuously failed, he concluded the vault's walls jammed the signal. And that wasn't the only thing.

Despite knowing better, he tried to teleport out one more time, but just like before, he just ended up smashing against the wall. _Barmathium,_ _huh_ , he thought. He rubbed his head as tears started to form in his red eyes, not because of the pain, but purely because of despair.

He aggressively slammed his fists against the door. "Let me out!" he yelled. "Let me out!"

He gave up, and slid down to sit against the cold wall. His gaze fell upon the files he had dropped and were now scattered across the floor. He grabbed one. _Grandgate Prison_. If they were going to get him, he might as well store as much information as possible inside his head.

He barely made it through the first page, before he noticed a sound. It sounded like gas leaking through a small hole. He looked up, and saw a greenish aerosol spraying out of the ceiling.

"No…" he said, covering his mouth and nose, but it was too late. Everything started to spin around him.

Kyd couldn't even try to teleport away anymore before his body hit the floor and everything turned black.

oo0O0oo

James Gordon walked around on a rooftop, glancing around cautiously.

"Over here," a deep voice sounded.

"Jesus Christ!" Gordon yelled as he turned around, his heart racing. "Don't sneak up on me like that! Why did you call me here?"

The Caped Crusader handed him a portable screen. "This is security footage from a failed heist in Crown Tower."

"Crown Tower? Jesus, Batman, I didn't know you had access to Wayne Enterprises' camera footage! Were they after…"

"Yes. They tried to steal information from the Cadynski Vault. Security captured one of them, but we haven't found an identity yet. You might want to take a look at camera sixty-one, though."

Gordon watched how a winged woman knocked down a man in his office. "Wait… Batman, do you think this is…"

"I'm almost certain it is."

"Oh my god…" Gordon gave the Dark Knight back his screen as he took out his phone. "Henry? Henry, this is Jim. You might want to take a look at the camera footage Batman is about to send you."

oo0O0oo

 **A/N:** Dun dun duuuh!

The scene with Kyd on the roof reminded me of " **WHERE WERE THE OTHER DRUGS GOING?** " from Batman Begins XD. I even imagine Kyd's demonic voice sounding kinda like Batman's.


	4. Torn Apart

**Part 1**

 **Chapter 4: Torn Apart**

"Be careful."

"Relax. He's unconscious."

"You never know with these guys. Just to be safe, have your gun loaded and ready."

"Okay. Open it."

Kyd watched through mostly closed eyes how the door of the vault cracked open just a tiny bit. The gas was working on his brain, so he didn't quite know what that meant. He vaguely remembered something. Something was up with this vault. Wasn't he stuck in here?

Stuck.

They opened the door.

Kyd didn't give it any more thought and teleported. He had no idea where, he just wanted to get out of there.

Kyd slowly opened his eyes. Did it work? He looked around him. He was kneeling on a street. It was raining and nighttime. But it worked. He got out of the vault.

He crawled back onto his feet. He had no idea which part of the city he was in, but he saw he wasn't too far from Crown Tower. He brought his hand up to his cowl. He still had his earpiece.

"Angel?"

oo0O0oo

Angel nervously walked around her apartment. She hadn't heard anything from Kyd since she had lost the signal, which was almost an hour ago. Something went wrong. She had to go back.

When she was about to leave, she heard a soft sound coming from the kitchen table. She rushed to where she had left her earpiece.

"Angel… Angel?" it sounded.

She quickly picked it up. "I'm here, Kyd! Are you okay?"

"I'm… fine. I got away, but… I didn't get any of the files."

"It's okay, Kyd. As long as we're both fine."

"I'm returning home."

"Okay. I'll be waiting for you."

Angel put down the device and walked into the living room. She took a glance out of the window and stirred. Then, she ran back into the kitchen and yelled into the earpiece: "Don't come here, Kyd! Don't come!"

But no answer came.

oo0O0oo

"Okay. I'll be waiting for you," Angel said into Kyd's ear.

Kyd sighed. He took out his earpiece and threw it away as hard as possible, trying to get the frustration and disappointment out of his head. He turned around and walked away. He didn't feel like teleporting.

Kyd took off his headpiece and let the rain pour onto his black hair. His first villain operation had failed. Maybe that wouldn't have happened if he could've finished his training at the H.I.V.E. Academy. Maybe it still would've happened, during his final exam, and he would've failed. Maybe he just wasn't good enough to be a villain.

Kyd stopped walking when he heard a sound he didn't like. The sound of police sirens. He didn't like the direction they were coming from either. He quickly teleported onto a rooftop to avoid being seen, and observed the scene that made his heart skip a beat.

Five police cars were parked in front of their apartment building, with a large spotlight shining onto their window. The police officers were crouched behind the car doors, their guns aimed at the window. An elderly man in a brown coat stepped forward with a megaphone.

"Angelina Roberts!" he spoke. "This is commissioner Henry Parkinson! We have you surrounded! We are here to arrest you for kidnapping and threatening multiple people in an attempt to steal classified information! It's the end of the road for you, so come out willingly before we have to use brute force!"

oo0O0oo

No no no. She couldn't let this happen. She couldn't go to jail now.

It would be easy to escape by just teleporting away with Kyd, but they knew who she was. They'd find her, and she'd endanger Kyd. She couldn't do that.

She carefully took a look through the curtains. The street was filled with cops. She saw a SWAT team ready to enter the building. She had to act fast.

She grabbed whatever there was to save. Her helmet, the blueprints of Crown Tower, her laptop, the picture of her and her dad from the fridge. She took one last look around the apartment, before walking into the hall and closing the door behind her.

oo0O0oo

Kyd looked around the street. It had to be somewhere around here. When he finally spotted the small piece of technology, he rushed towards it and grabbed it from the wet floor.

"Angel?" he asked. "Angel, say something! Please!"

But no one answered.

oo0O0oo

She rushed across the hall and looked at the door of apartment 3A. There was no doorbell, not even a name tag. She knocked.

"Mr. Ivan?" she asked. When no response came, she knocked again, louder. "Mr. Ivan?"

She suddenly heard the sound of the door being unlocked before it cracked open and Ivan's unshaven face looked at her. He had clearly been waken up by her.

"Please, Mr. Ivan, can I come in for just a second?"

Ivan took a look at the girl standing in front of his door. Her arms were filled with stuff: a helmet, a computer... wait... what was that there?

"Do you remember me, Mr. Ivan? I'm Mr. Roberts' daughter, Angelina!" The man looked confused. "Remember Mr. Roberts?"

"Roberts?" Ivan asked as he looked from the things she was carrying to her face and back. "Roberts..." A look of remembrance flew across his face and he seemed to frown.

The door opened further. "Thank you," Angel said as Ivan stepped aside and she walked in.

 _Now he should have a window that leads to the back of the_ -

Angel didn't get any further before something hit the back of her head and the world turned black.

oo0O0oo

Kyd looked around the empty room. She was already gone. He walked into the kitchen. The picture on the fridge had been removed and replaced with a note.

 _Don't follow me, Shadow._

He clenched his fists and bit his lip. Rage was building up inside him. They were going to take her away from him. He would be alone again. And the worst part was: she didn't want him to rescue her. As much as he hated it, he knew she wouldn't let him. Angel could be really stubborn, he knew that from experience.

He heard a loud crash as the front door was forced open. "SWAT! Don't move!" he heard someone yell in the other room. Kyd closed his eyes and teleported away. Away from his life.

oo0O0oo

Commissioner Henry Parkinson watched as his men carried out the winged girl.

"What a shame," he said as he looked at her young face. "So young, and already making the same mistakes as her father."

oo0O0oo

 **A/N:** Kind of short, I know. Next chapter will be longer.


	5. New Alliances

**Part 1**

 **Chapter 5: New Alliances**

"Well well..."

Angel watched as the man sat down on the opposite side of the table with a stern look. To avoid having to look him in the eye, she decided to stare at his bushy mustache.

"Miss Roberts..." he started, "You never answered our letter, all these years ago. I was hoping you would one day show up at the police station, but I must say I never wished it would be this way."

Angel said nothing as she tried to count the amount of gray hairs on the man's upper lip. The chains tying together her wings on her back felt like they were burning.

"Look, miss Roberts, there is little point in trying to deny your involvement in the Crown Tower heist last night. There is plenty of camera footage, and you were caught with the blueprints of the vault in your hands. I don't know how you thought it would be a good idea to start waving them in front of their creator, but..."

"What?" Angel asked, confused. "Creator?"

"Ivan Cadynski," Parkinson said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "The man to whom we owe this conversation." Angel's mouth stayed half open as she processed the information. The commissioner looked amused. "Don't tell me you never knew you lived next to the designer of the Cadynski Vault? Where do you think your father found those blueprints? That burglary cost the poor man his job, so I can understand he's not too keen on letting the daughter of the man who ruined his life escape."

"Can I see my father?" Angel asked.

"I don't think it'll be that easy. Your father was caught in Gotham. He was locked away in Blackgate. But you, miss, you won't be leaving this city in a while. Of course, everything depends on your cooperation."

"My cooperation on what?"

"Well, for a start, you could give us the name of your companion."

"Forget it."

"Some people claim they saw Batman, but last time I checked, Batman was still a hero and couldn't teleport. The only valuable witness is the gatekeeper, but he's still too traumatized to make much sense. This is your chance to get a lower punishment."

"I won't sell out my friend."

"Very well," Parkinson said as he stood up from his chair. "Enjoy your time in Grandgate Prison." He walked away towards the door.

"Wait!" Angel said before he left. "Can I please see my father just once?"

The commissioner walked back to the table and placed a pencil and a piece of paper in front of her. "If you give us the name of your teleporting friend, I can arrange that you can see him once," he said, "Every. Week." He looked at her for a second before walking away again. "You have two hours to decide." A buzzing sound echoed through the room as commissioner Parkinson opened the door and walked out.

Angel looked at the piece of paper. She had to choose between her father and her best friend.

oo0O0oo

Kyd walked and walked for hours. He walked away from the sun that started to rise. He walked away from the safety of his home. He walked away from the person he trusted most.

Kyd found himself walking into Jump City. He didn't know if he had planned to go here. He didn't know where he wanted to go.

He noticed a newspaper on the ground. He kneeled and picked it up _. 'Young villains break into Cadynski Vault_ ' it said on the front page. ' _One criminal caught, the other still on the run_ ' was written in smaller letters below the title.

Kyd froze when he heard a voice. _There you have it_ , he thought. _The Teen Titans have found me_. But... the voice he heard was familiar.

"Well, well. Does my eye spot Kyd Wykkyd?"

Kyd looked around him and spotted a young man in a white costume with a large eye in the middle of his chest leaning against a streetlight. A single green eye looked at him from the middle of a dark green headpiece.

"Long time no see, buddy," See-More said.

Kyd gave his old friend a sad smile.

"What have you been up to?" See-More asked.

Kyd handed him the newspaper and he inspected the front page. His eye widened as he read through the article. "No way!" he exclaimed. "I can't believe my eye! You actually broke into Crown Tower?"

Kyd softly nodded as he pointed at a sentence on the page. "One of the criminals was caught at her home shortly after the crime," See-More read, "A young villain who goes by the name Angel..." He looked up and saw Kyd sadly bowing his head down. "Oh, I see. I'm sorry, man. You guys were pretty close, huh?" Kyd nodded. "So what are you gonna do now?" Kyd raised his shoulders. "Do you have a place to stay?" Kyd shook his head.

Something changed in See-More's expression, the same way Angel's had changed just before she had proposed to move in with her in Crown City. "Why don't you stop by at our place?" he asked.

Kyd gave him a questioning look. _Our?_ he seemed to ask.

"Me and a couple of old H.I.V.E. friends did a little team-up. I'm sure they won't mind if you crash at our base for a while." He received a grateful smile from Kyd. "Come on, Kyd, I'll let you see it for yourself."

oo0O0oo

"Now watch," See-More said to his demon friend. They were standing in an area filled with warehouses. In front of them was a garage-like gate with a letter H in a hexagon on it. See-More knocked on it twice with very short knocks.

"Who is it?" a squeaky voice asked shortly after.

"See-More," the one-eyed boy answered.

"Prove it."

"You're holding up three fingers."

There was a short pause, after which the gate opened. See-More stepped forward. "Observe," he said to Kyd, who followed him inside, "The H.I.V.E. Five Headquarters!"

Kyd was... underwhelmed, to say the least. What he expected to be an evil bad guy lair, turned out to look more like a teenage man-cave. He followed See-More through a corridor. There were several doors that lead to messy rooms. He almost tripped over an empty pizza box, and he could hear screaming voices in the distance.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you," See-More told Wykkyd, "I went out for a walk through the city, because there was a pretty heated argument going on. By the looks of it, things haven't really cooled down yet."

They entered what seemed to be the main living room of the base. Kyd immediately recognized some familiar faces. Mammoth was sitting on a couch, holding a bag of nacho chips in his enormous hands. Private HIVE and Jinx were standing practically nose to nose, yelling at each other, while Gizmo sat behind a table, messing around with some technological thingy.

"I told you it was a bad idea from the start!" Private HIVE said. "You should've listened to me!"

"Well, it's not me who took in that pie in the first place!" Jinx replied, pointing at Gizmo accusingly.

"What?" Gizmo asked. "What did you expect me to do?"

See-More turned to Kyd. "We had a little... incident with a pie someone left in front of our door," he explained.

At the sound of his voice, the others stopped arguing for a second to look at their fellow team member, as if they had only noticed him now.

"Oh, good to see you're back, Seymour," Private HIVE said sarcastically. "Are you done chickening out on team discussions?"

"First of all, I would hardly call this a 'team discussion', this is just mindless bickering. Second of all, how many times have I told you, it's not Seymour, it's See-More!"

"That's what I said."

"No, it's not! You think I don't hear the difference?"

"Whatev..." Private HIVE stopped when he noticed the boy standing behind See-More. "What are you doing here?" he loudly asked, drawing the other villains' attention towards the demon boy.

Kyd wanted to crawl out of the situation, but he knew it was too late. He never got along with Private HIVE particularly well. The same went for the other three; they were the H.I.V.E. favorites, the popular bully-kind. He stayed where he was, safely behind See-More.

"Why did you bring an outsider to our base, See-More?" Jinx asked as she crossed her arms. "Do you realize the risks you're taking?"

"Guys, it's just Kyd Wykkyd! He's one of us!"

"Since when is he on the team?" Gizmo yelled in his high-pitched voice.

"No, not like that! I mean that he's a villain, an ex-H.I.V.E. student! He's not gonna sell us out or something!"

"It's not like he could, even if he wanted..." Gizmo said in a softer voice, as if that meant Kyd couldn't hear him.

"Okay, he can't talk, so what?" See-More defended him. "He never joked about you looking like a five year old."

Gizmo made a grumbling noise as he clenched his fists.

"Still," Private said, "That doesn't take away the fact that you should've asked my permission to let him into our secret lair."

Jinx laughed. " _Your_ permission? You mean MY permission, right?"

"Who are you to decide about such matters?"

"Excuse me," Jinx said as she took a step closer towards Private. "I happen to be the leader of this team."

"Oh yeah? Since when?"

"Uh, since always!" Jinx said as if it were obvious.

"Well, I don't know about you guys," Private said to the other members of the H.I.V.E. Five, "But I never saw a voting for who would be the leader." He looked around for support, but Gizmo straight up ignored him and went back to his machinery, See-More rolled his eye, and Mammoth stayed just as quiet as he had been during the entire conversation, the only sound he made being the crunching of nachos in his mouth.

"Alright then," Jinx said mockingly, "If you want, we can have a voting right now."

"Sounds good to me," Private said with a victorious smile. "All those in favor of making Private HIVE leader?" He raised his hand and waited for others to do the same. Unfortunately for him, no one did.

"Better luck next time, Private," Jinx mocked. "All those in favor of keeping Jinx as leader of the H.I.V.E. Five?" She raised her hand, and after a glare in their direction, so did Mammoth and Gizmo. See-More hesitated for a while, and then decided it was best to keep a good name with their leader.

"So, that makes four?" Jinx asked. "Sorry, Private, but it looks like you're going to be stuck with me as your leader."

"If you think I'll be taking orders from you, you are mistaken, you bitch!"

Jinx froze. She slowly turned her head towards him, her eyes filled with fury. "What did you say?"

"You heard me! I refuse to be bossed around by some pink-obsessed girl who thinks the world revolves around her!"

"Well, at least I'm not a cheap Guardian knockoff!"

"I'm not a Guardian knockoff!"

"Oh really? With your little shield and your yellow helmet? I bet you only went to the Academy because you're not good enough to be a hero!"

Private HIVE started to get red underneath his helmet. "You take that back right now."

"Remember, _you_ are under _my_ command."

"Okay, that's it! I'm done putting up with this group of amateurs!" Private HIVE exclaimed. He walked over to the table and grabbed his shield that was laying on it, almost knocking out Gizmo in the process. "I don't need you guys anyway! I quit!" With that, he walked out, roughly pushing aside Kyd and See-More on his way to the door.

"Tell the Titans we say hello when you get caught!" Jinx shouted before the door slammed shut.

A painful silence filled the room.

"Man, this stinks," Gizmo eventually said. "I hate to say it, but he was a pretty good fighter."

"And there's only four of us now," Mammoth added, opening his mouth for the first time since Kyd got there (not counting the many times he had opened it to stuff it with nachos). "We can't go calling us the H.I.V.E. Five now. And H.I.V.E. Four sounds stupid."

"Actually," See-More spoke, "I have a different suggestion..."

oo0O0oo

Kyd waited impatiently as the four leftover members of the H.I.V.E. Five discussed See-More's idea in the adjacent room. He looked around the room he was in. It seemed to be a storage room, and by the looks of it, the H.I.V.E. Five lived mainly from breakfast cereals, crackers, and the flyer with the number of the local pizzeria.

Kyd looked up when the door opened. Jinx stood with her arms crossed, the three boys lined up behind her. "Kyd Wykkyd," she said, "From now on, you are an official member of the H.I.V.E. Five."

Kyd's face brightened. They had accepted him. He had somewhere he belonged again.

"But," Jinx continued, "The first week of your membership will be a testing period. If we are not pleased by your contribution to our operations, you will be expelled. Is that clear?"

Kyd nodded. He wasn't going to disappoint them. This was his new team. His new home.

oo0O0oo

 **A/N:** Notice how much See-More uses the words eye, see or other sight-related words :)

If you want a rough idea of what commissioner Henry Parkinson is supposed to look like, just take a mix of Chief Inspector Soichiro Yagami from _Death Note_ , Captain Leland Stottlemeyer from _Monk_ , and Detective John Mackey from _Dolores Claiborne_.


	6. Lightspeed

**Part 1**

 **Chapter 6: Lightspeed**

"Well, Gizmo?"

"Easy. Security system stinks!"

Gizmo went back to hacking the museum's security mainframe. Kyd held his breath as he and the rest of the H.I.V.E. Five waited inside the ceiling.

"Access approved," the robotic computer voice said when Gizmo succeeded in his actions.

"Check it out," Gizmo said as he pressed a button on the screen. One by one, the lasers securing the items in the museum faded out.

Jinx swiftly jumped down from the ceiling, quickly followed by See-More, Mammoth, Kyd Wykkyd and Billy Numerous.

"Gold, jewels, priceless artifacts," Jinx said with a satisfied tone. "Way better than the mall. H.I.V.E. Five, rob 'em blind!" With that, the six (yes, six) young villains spread out, each looking for their preferred valuables.

As Kyd looked around inspecting the antiquities, he heard Mammoth lift a heavy lid from a sarcophagus.

"Hey, See-More," he asked, holding up what probably used to be some pharaoh's shirt against his chest, "Does this make me look fat?"

"No way, Mammoth," the cyclops answered after cutting through a glass case with his laser-eye, "It makes you look RICH!" He then spotted Kyd, who was standing in front of an encased snake scepter, still as a statue. "Need an eye, Kyd Wykkyd?" he asked, offering his help.

Kyd shook his head. He lifted his arm, touching the thick glass with his cape. A black opening appeared on the surface, and he reached through with his hand to grab the scepter. Kyd really liked it, it looked pretty cool. Maybe he was going to keep this one instead of selling it.

"Hoo-wee, them's some fancy jars!" it sounded from elsewhere in the room.

"I agree! I believe these should be the property of Billy Numerous!" an identical voice said.

"Start grabbin'!" all of Billy's clones said in unison. They each grabbed one of the urns he... they had been inspecting.

"You know what they put in those things, don't you?" Jinx asked Billy with a grin. "Mummy guts!"

One of the Billies lifted the lid of his urn and they all took a look, only to turn away in disgust seconds later.

Billy Numerous had joined the H.I.V.E. Five about two weeks ago. Kyd wasn't sure why, but Jinx had insisted he could be a great asset, despite his unbearable Southern accent. "His powers have great potential," she had said. "Too bad he's too stupid to use them to their full extent."

Kyd wondered if he was the only one on the team who had realized 'Five' was a bit inappropriate now, but as always, he had kept his mouth shut. He hadn't spoken a single word since... since he had lost her. Then again, H.I.V.E. Six wouldn't be perfect either, since there more often than not was more than one Billy.

When every member of the team had found something they liked, they walked to the main exit. Jinx pushed open the front door and the six walked out onto the steps at the entrance of Jump City's Museum of Ancient Egyptian Relics. Before they could take another step, however, a red and yellow blur passed them, too quick to see what it was.

"Whoa! Did you see that?" See-More asked. Before anyone could react, the thing flashed past again, and See-More and Billy were suddenly left empty-handed. While both looked around in confusion, the mystery thing passed them again. Gizmo yelped as the fast-moving thing caused him to spin around in the air and Kyd looked at his hand. The scepter had been replaced with a tree branch.

Another pass and Mammoth was left with his loot gone and his pants down on his ankles. Finally, Jinx was put to the same treatment as her team, but instead of a dead tree branch, she received a red rose.

As the H.I.V.E. Five recovered from the confusing and unexpected assault, an alarm went off inside the museum, alerting the villains.

"Run!" Jinx shouted, and that's exactly what the six did.

oo0O0oo

"Hehehe! Yeah!" Billy enthusiastically shouted as he raced against himself.

Everyone had returned to the base, and Kyd was silently sitting in the corner of the main room as Jinx was freaking out about the previous attack. Billy was playing some racing game on his GameStation.

"Hey! Lay off them dadgum lasers!" he angrily said to his clone, who was apparently winning the race.

"Not my fault you don't know where the shields are," the clone answered.

"Which button is it, Billy?" the first Billy asked the one on his right.

"Left one."

"Right," a fourth clone confirmed.

"No, left!"

With that, yet another fight between Billies that would probably go on forever was started. Mammoth, in the meantime, had walked up to the fridge for a snack (emptying the entire fridge in his mouth). Kyd decided to direct his attention to Jinx and Gizmo instead, who were scrolling through a list of superheroes on the computer.

"It was probably those crud-munching Teen Titans," Gizmo said.

"It can't be," Jinx replied. "They're still away fighting the Brotherhood of Evil. And the Titans East got called back to Steel City." She glared at the rose she received from the mysterious hero. "I want to know who did this. I want to find them and I want to make them pay." With that, the rose wilted in her hand.

"Somebody has a boyfrie- aah!" Gizmo got no further in his taunting before Jinx made his chair's support disappear, and he fell to the ground.

"So, we got busted," said Mammoth, who had walked up to the duo. "What's the big deal? We get busted all the time."

"We didn't just get busted," Jinx argued, "Whoever did this was messing with us."

Gizmo and Mammoth clearly had no idea what she was aiming at, and Billy not paying any attention whatsoever while racing with his best friends -his clones.

Jinx was getting really frustrated. "HOW DO YOU GUYS EXPECT THE BROTHERHOOD OF EVIL TO TAKE US SERIOUSLY IF THIS KEEPS HAPPENING!" she yelled.

Billy didn't seem to care. "Pfft! Brotherhood of Evil."

"Yeah, all those old-timers ever talk about is takin' over the world," Billy added.

"Brain in a jar? Talkin' gorillas? Boooorin'!" several Billies said after mimicking the Brain and Monsiour Mallah -the leaders of the Brotherhood of Evil. "I don't even know why they care about us."

"Maybe the Brain thinks we have potential!" Jinx said before groaning. "I don't know why I hang around with you nitwits."

Their argument was interrupted by an alarm going off. Everyone rushed to the computer screen.

"We got multiple targets," Gizmo reported. "An armored car on Main, three jewelry stores, and a taco stand."

"Ooh, I'll take that one!" Mammoth enthusiastically said.

"Yee-haw!" Billy cheered. "It's time for crime!"

oo0O0oo

Kyd waited in the alley. The money transport should approach him any moment now. He held his communicator close as he took a glance around the corner. Nothing.

"I spy with my big old eye," See-More's voice suddenly sounded through the communicator, "A truck full of dough! Ahahaha!"

Kyd went right into action. He saw the vehicle coming his way on the main road, and he swiftly jumped right in front of it. The surprised driver turned his steering wheel as hard as he could, causing the truck to flip over. Just before the transport hit him, Kyd dematerialized, reappearing inside.

He immediately regretted not waiting until the truck had come to a halt, as he was being tossed around, bags of money flying around his head. When the truck finally stopped moving, Kyd crawled back onto his feet, and reached for the door. He opened it, and a few bags rolled out onto the street. He grabbed as many as he could carry and walked out, just as See-More descended from the sky, his eye shrinking back to its normal size so it could fit in its socket.

"Payday!" See-More exclaimed when he saw the amount of money that was laying there, waiting to be taken by them.

His enthusiasm was short-lived, however, as the way too familiar flash of red and yellow ran past them, leaving Kyd bag-less.

Before they could even try to run away, the humanoid lightning bolt returned. It started to run in circles around them, creating so much wind that a small whirlwind appeared, sucking both boys up in the air. See-More screamed as they were transported through the sky. Then, all of a sudden, the yellow streak left, leaving the two villains hanging in the air for a split second, before they fell down into Jump City Bay.

Kyd shivered as they resurfaced. He hated getting wet. See-More's situation was hardly better. "Uh... What just happened?"

Kyd shrugged. He had never seen anything like this before.

oo0O0oo

Kyd and See-More returned to the H.I.V.E. hideout after their aquatic experience. They met up with Billy, who was practically frozen after an encounter with their new enemy on an ice hockey rink. Gizmo had been defeated as well, and Mammoth had been robbed of a candy bar -for which, he insisted, he had paid. Kyd was trying to get dry while meditating, but the others were discussing the unpleasant events of earlier that night.

"Who does this guy think he is?" a shivering Billy asked.

"Where'd he come from?" See-More asked, his arms crossed.

"How do we squash him?" a furious Mammoth said, squeezing a manhole cover in his strong hand.

"We shoulda stayed home!" Gizmo angrily shouted, struggling with his messed-up wiring.

"We should be thanking him," Jinx said as she walked up to the others, earning her multiple questioning looks from them. "Don't you get it? This is our chance to impress the Brotherhood of Evil! We catch this do-gooder and turn him in, they might even offer us membership!"

"What's wrong with the way things are?" Billy asked.

"Billy's right," Billy agreed with himself. "We don't need a bunch of old goats gettin' in our bidness."

"Yeah! Who needs 'em?" Gizmo added.

"Suit yourselves," Jinx said, walking away. "But when I'm playing in the big leagues, and you're still robbing parking meters, don't ask me for any favors."

She left, closing the door behind her, leaving the other five dumbfounded.

"Y'all wanna build a fort out of sofa cushions?" Billy asked, getting positive responses from the others. Kyd smiled as he held up a cushion. If there was one thing he liked about Numerous, it was building sofa fortresses with him.

oo0O0oo

"Okay, here's the situation," See-More said to Wykkyd, scanning the environment with his X-ray. "Gizmo and Mammoth are on our left, Billy and Billy are on our right. When we charge, I will take the left. You teleport to Billy and defeat him before he can multiply. We win, end of the game."

They had taken every single cushion and pillow there was in the lair, and had managed to build three small bases.

"When I say go, be ready to attack," See-More said. "Go!"

Kyd wasted no time and teleported to the Billies' base, a pillow in his hand. "Wha-" Billy #1 said before Kyd smashed the pillow against his face. Across the room, See-More was blasting eyeballs at Gizmo. Mammoth lifted a cushion-less sofa above his head, ready to smash Kyd's and See-More's fort. Chaos was all over the place, when they suddenly all froze at the sound of a voice.

"What in the world are you guys doing?"

They all stopped fighting, and Mammoth quickly placed the couch down. They all turned to Jinx, acting as if they hadn't just been caught having a large-scale pillow fight.

"Nothing," See-More innocently said.

"The five of you better come with me," she commanded. "I have a plan to catch our little friend."

oo0O0oo

"What's goin' on?" Billy asked See-More while they waited in the janitor closet of the very museum they had been robbing earlier.

"Nothing yet," the cyclops answered. "She's taken out the guards… Wait!"

"What do you see?" Mammoth asked.

"A young hero. Yellow suit and boots, red pants and gloves. Red lightning symbol on his chest and by his ears. Red hair showing at the top. Blue eyes. 5'6" tall."

"That's the guy!" Billy exclaimed.

"Let's see…" Gizmo searched through a database on a computer. "Found it! His name is Wally West, also known as Kid Flash. He was the Flash's sidekick, but he's been working alone lately."

"He's talking to Jinx," See-More reported.

"What now?" asked Mammoth.

"We wait for the signal…" Gizmo said. The words had barely left his mouth before the communicator Kyd had been holding started beeping. "Let's go!"

They entered the main exhibition room as quietly as possible. Kid Flash was standing on the stairs on the other side of the room, facing Jinx, who had her back turned. "What about the H.I.V.E. Five?" she asked. "They'd come after me…"

"Let me worry about them," the hero said.

Jinx turned around. "Where will I go?" she acted, dramatically placing the back of her hand against her forehead. "What will I do?"

"Trust me," Kid Flash said reassuringly, holding out one hand.

Jinx looked at the outstretched arm. For a second it almost looked like she was really considering his offer. She started to reach for it, but then suddenly turned her expression into a cunning smile. "On second thought, nah," she wickedly said before her hexes sent Kid Flash flying backwards, rolling over the floor and stopping just in front of where Mammoth was standing. When he noticed the giant, he quickly got up. Right at that moment, Kyd Wykkyd appeared behind him, surprising the hero. The other villains quickly joined in, every one of them ready for battle.

"For someone so fast," Jinx said as she walked down the steps to regroup with her team, "You're a little slow."

"Who's the loser now?" Gizmo asked as he descended from the sky with his jetpack.

The speedster was completely surrounded (mainly by Billy-clones, of course). Mammoth stepped forward. "You're about to become a speedbump!"

"Only one problem with that plan, big guy: you have to catch me first!" With that, Kid Flash ran off, knocking over multiple Billies. Mammoth tried to punch him, but failed miserably. "Missed me! Missed again! Nope! I'm over here!"

"Catch!" See-More called, before one of his eyeballs knocked Kid Flash off his feet and sent him rolling over the marble floor.

Kyd watched semi-amused how Gizmo tried to catch him, and how Billy endlessly cloned himself to keep the human bullet from getting away. When he finally got out of the Billy-maze, Kyd teleported right in front of him. He lifted his hand and simply slapped Kid Flash in the face, knocking him back a few meters. Flash tried to run away, but Kyd teleported again, stopping him. The young hero ran back and forth a few more times, but was stopped by the mystic villain every time.

"So what are you? Psychic or something?" Kid Flash asked.

Kyd gave no response, other than a finger pointing at See-More.

"Nah. We're tracking your heat trail, dummy!" See-More said, scanning the two with a red eye beam. "Mammoth! Now!" he shouted.

Kid Flash had no time to react before Mammoth busted through the wall behind him and grabbed him in what would be a comfy hug –if he weren't squeezing all the air out of his victim.

"I… didn't… know you… cared!" Kid Flash started to viciously rub his head against Mammoth's arm, causing so much friction that Mammoth released him with a scream, his skin red.

Kid Flash wasted no time and off he went, knocking over See-More and half a dozen of Billies, before he suddenly started to slip on a very strategically placed puddle. He tried to break his speed, but that only caused him to fall onto his face.

"Oh, did I move this?" Jinx asked with a smile, holding up a 'wet floor' sign. She swung it through the air, before letting it land on Kid Flash's face with an unappealing sound.

oo0O0oo

"Okay guys, listen up for real this time." Jinx walked around in front of the cage, which held the unconscious superhero. "We have to prevent him from getting away at all costs! Do you understand?"

"Yes ma'am," Billy said.

"Don't worry, ma'am," a different Billy said. "He can't get out of that cage."

"I'll keep an eye on him," See-More joked.

"Seriously! If he gets away, I'm going to kill all of you!"

Kyd silently raised his hand. "Yes, Wykkyd?" Jinx asked with a sigh. Kyd pointed at the cage. The red and yellow heap of superhero was starting to move.

They all watched as Kid Flash rubbed his head, before taking a good look at the villains on the other side of the steel bars. "Looks like you got me," he said, surprisingly relaxed.

"That's right!" Billy said, "And when we're through with you, we're gonna… We're gonna…" The Billies exchanged confused looks. "What are we gonna do with him?"

"I thought we discussed this already!" Jinx shouted with irritation.

"I say we brainwash him and make him steal stuff for us!" See-More suggested, putting on his hypnosis-eye.

"We should hold him up for ransom," said Mammoth, shoving See-More out of the way. "He's gotta be worth money!"

Now it was Gizmo's turn to share his idea: "Let's take him apart and see what makes him tick!"

"I told you!" Jinx tried to explain, "We need to call…"

"Naw, don't let them spoil our fun!" Billy objected.

"Yeah! Let's hang him on the wall like a bigmouth bass!" Billy said.

"Don't I get a say in this?" Kid Flash suddenly spoke up.

All the villains turned to look at him. He was casually eating chips from a bag. "Hey, where'd you get… Those are mine!" Mammoth yelled angrily as he yanked away the chips.

The speedster swallowed hard, before frowning in confusion. "Wait wait wait wait…" He looked at the villains one by one. "If you're called the H.I.V.E. Five… how come there are six of you?"

The villains exchanged puzzled looks, but Kyd just though ' _See? Told you so_ '.

"'Cause… it sounds… cooler?" See-More hesitantly said.

"This is borin'!" Billy complained, walking away.

"We're gonna go watch rasslin'!" a second Billy said, following the first.

"You dweebs better not hog the sofa!" Gizmo shouted, flying after them. When See-More and Mammoth left as well, Kyd teleported to his room.

He sat down on his bed. He had to admit, he wasn't sure he wanted to get involved with the Brotherhood of Evil either. It was all so… big. And it scared him to be part of something large like that. Those were all adult villains, experienced and dangerous. But he… he was just a scared little boy in hard world.

 _Why did you leave me, Angel?_

oo0O0oo

"A level four containment field? Are out of your stinking mind?" Gizmo yelled. "That's hard even for me!"

So here's the thing: Jinx had called the 'B of E', but failed to notice Kid Flash had ran off in the meantime, and now she was blaming them.

"I don't care! You're gonna make one, now! We have to get him back! Do you have any idea how bad it's gonna be if Madame Rouge shows up and we don't have him?"

"Bad for you, maybe," Billy joked.

Cloned Billy snickered and gave a high-five. "Good one, Billy."

"You were the ones that said he couldn't get out!" Jinx glared as she grabbed the Billies by their suit front. She turned towards See-More. "And you were the one that said you'd keep an eye on him!" She walked up to See-More, who walked backwards, away from her. She roughly pushed Kyd out of her path. "If Madame Rouge doesn't make things bad for you, I promise I will!"

The room suddenly went dark, and Kyd felt a blow of wind as the familiar red and yellow blur passed through it.

"He's still in the building!" See-More said.

When Kid Flash passed again, he left a trail of destruction behind him.

"And the gunk-muncher's tearing it apart!" Gizmo exclaimed.

"I don't care what it takes! Split up and catch him! NOW!"

Kyd went into the corridor he had last seen Kid Flash disappear into, before his communicator rang.

"Kyd Wykkyd," See-More's voice said, "He's in the power plant."

Kyd hastily teleported a few levels down, and landed right behind the hero, who was looking at the result of his sabotage with satisfaction. Kyd raised his arm and swung his cape at Flash.

"Aah!" Kid Flash cried as he barely dodged the sharp edges of Kyd's clothing. "Someone should put a bell on you."

Kyd pressed forward, driving the hero back with aggressive swipes of his cape. When Kid Flash suddenly ducked, he cut right through the steel of the main reactor. Kyd sheepishly watched how the top part of the machine slid off its base onto the floor.

"Thanks for the help!" Kid Flash said behind Wykkyd before he sped away.

Kyd gave the hero a deadly glare, but he was already gone. He took a look at the sliced reactor. There was just no way to spin this.

"He's in the workshop! He's in the…" Gizmo's voice trailed off over the communicator. "Never mind."

"He's heading for the garage!"

This continued for a while, where See-More would tell the speedster's location, but before the villains could do anything, he had already moved to an entirely different part of the base.

"He's heading for Corridor Twelve!" See-More eventually said, "And that's a dead end, ahaha!"

Kyd made his way to Corridor Twelve and met up with Gizmo and Mammoth on the way. "He won't be getting away this time," Gizmo said with a grin.

They turned around a corner and found Kid Flash standing in front of a wall, trapped.

"End of the road, snot-brain," Gizmo taunted Flash, aiming his stun-gun.

"You do realize I can vibrate my molecules through solid objects," Kid Flash replied. His entire body turned into a blur, and he slowly went backwards, going through the wall as if it were a hologram. The three villains stood there with open mouths. "Later," they heard behind them, and a second later, Kid Flash was gone.

oo0O0oo

"This is the worst day ever," Jinx sighed.

The H.I.V.E. Five was sitting amidst the ruins that were the H.I.V.E. Five Headquarters, hanging their shoulders at the thought of their defeat. As if it weren't bad enough already, the door suddenly opened, and in stepped Brotherhood of Evil agent Madame Rouge. Billy Numerous yelped as he hid behind a chunk of concrete.

"I have come to collect the Kid Flash. Vhere is he?" Rouge spoke in an accent that reminded Kyd of his old neighbor Ivan's, only a lot more sadistic and mean sounding.

The boys cowered behind Jinx as Madame Rouge glared at them with a cold gaze. "He got away," Jinx admitted.

Rouge said nothing for a second before she talked down upon the teenagers with disgust. "You let him get avay? I should have known this vould happen. Never trust children."

"We'll find him! We'll get him back!" Jinx tried to convince Rouge.

"You have already proven most incompetent in that regard." She looked around with a scoff. "Your base is an embarrassment."

"It was Kid Flash! He trashed it!" Gizmo objected.

"SILENCE!" Madame Rouge commanded, almost scaring the already terrified H.I.V.E. Five to death.

"Yes ma'am," Gizmo quickly said.

"Just give me one more chance," Jinx begged. "I won't disappoint you."

"You hope to impress me, don't you?" Rouge asked the girl. "Perhaps someday you vish to be like me?"

Jinx looked up with a hopeful look, but Rouge just gave a condescending chuckle. "Most unlikely." She turned around to leave the base. "I vill catch him myself." She walked out and closed the door.

Jinx turned around towards her team. When she spoke, her voice started to show hints of despair. "We have to find Kid Flash before she does. It's the only way to prove that we're not completely worthless."

"Are you kidding?" Gizmo asked.

"I'm not getting in her way," Mammoth said decisively.

"Me neither!" Billy #1 said.

"Me neither!" Billy #2 said.

"Me neither!" Billy #3 said.

"Me neither!" Billies #4 to 8 said.

"What he said," the final Billy concluded.

"Then I guess I'm on my own." She grabbed Gizmo's stun-gun and gave him a small pat on the head. After that, she walked out the same door Rouge had left through.

As Kyd turned to leave with the others, he saw See-More, still as a statue. He walked up to his friend and placed a hand on his shoulder.

See-More turned his head towards Kyd. "I feel bad. We can't just leave her in the cold like that." Kyd tilted his head with a questioning look. "I'm going after her to help," See-More decided as he walked after their teammate.

Kyd hastily teleported into his path. It was too dangerous. They had already gotten on Madame Rouge's nerves; if they'd annoy her any more, she'd probably kill them.

However, See-More's expression was determined. "Step aside, Kyd. She's a friend. I'm going to help her."

Kyd bowed his head and stepped aside, letting his friend pass. There was nothing he could do to change his mind.

oo0O0oo

The four remaining members of the H.I.V.E. Five looked up when the door opened, and Kyd snapped out of his meditation. In stepped See-More, but he was alone.

"And?" Gizmo asked, flying up with his thrusters. "Did you catch him?"

See-More hesitated. "Well… Kinda."

"What do you mean? Where's Jinx?"

"See, that's the thing," See-More nervously said, "I don't think… I don't think Jinx will be returning to the base anytime soon." He thought of the rose that had been left on the street by the speedster, and the look on Jinx's face when she had told him to go ahead without her.

The boys looked at each other, not sure what to do next. "So what now?" Billy eventually asked.

"Well, I know one thing for sure," Gizmo said. "We are never, EVER, joining those stink-brains from the Brotherho-"

Before he was able to finish his sentence, they heard the sound of a door being forced open, and seconds later, three figures walked in. One of them was easily recognized as the infamous Cinderblock, the one on the right was none other than their ex-classmate XL Terrestrial. The one in the middle was a slightly older man with long grey hair and an equally grey suit. Kyd remembered Gizmo, Jinx and Mammoth talking about him when they bragged about the time Deathstroke the Terminator –or Slade- had used them for his master plot against the Teen Titans.

"Please come with us," Wintergreen said to the young villains. "You are hereby invited to join the Brotherhood of Evil."

The remainders of the H.I.V.E. Five stared at the man with open mouths. "Uh, the thing is…" Gizmo started.

"You are expected in Paris before the sun rises. And you don't want to insult Monsiour Mallah's hospitality."

oo0O0oo

 **A/N:** Very long chapter, but also the easiest to write so far, since I barely have to come up with any plot or dialogue :3

'Someone should put a bell on you' might just be my favorite line of the entire cartoon show, along with 'Hey dudes, check it out… brain freeze! _(everyone cringes)_ '


	7. Calling all villains

**Part 1**

 **Chapter 7: Calling all villains**

The five boys stared at the enormous gate in awe. Behind it was the largest bad guy lair they had ever seen, housing almost every villain who ever roamed Jump City and its surroundings.

Kyd had never been to Paris before. He should really use his powers for travelling more often. It was exhausting, though, especially since he had to go multiple times to get all of his teammates there.

In front of the gate stood two villains. One was Overload, a chip with an electric body around it. The other seemed to be Killer Moth, who was recognized by Mammoth because he may or may not have had a crush on his daughter Kitten.

"Who are you?" Killer Moth asked.

"We're the H.I.V.E. Five," See-More said. "We were told to come here?"

Killer Moth inspected the five for a second before pressing a button. The gate opened. "You'll have to check in with Mad Mod," he said. "Follow."

The young villains followed him past the mass of electric energy into the base. They approached a counter that had a red-haired man behind it.

"Mod! I've got a package for you!"

"Right! Send 'em over!"

They walked up to the counter and Killer Moth walked away. Mad Mod looked at them over his small pair of glasses. "Names?"

"We're the H.I.V.E. Five, and we're-"

"You're not the H.I.V.E. Five anymore, lads. You're all separate members of the Brotherhood of Evil now, so can I please have your names?" Mod asked in a rather annoyed tone.

"Uh… I'm See-More."

"Seymour?"

"No, no, See-More. S-E-E-dash-M-O-R-E."

"Gizmo."

"Mammoth."

"The name's Billy Numerous."

A pause. "And what about you, ducky?"

Kyd was pulled out of his thoughts. He had been admiring the architecture of the interior of the base. He stared at Mad Mod for a second.

"Your name, lad."

"His name is Kyd Wykkyd," See-More said.

"I'm not asking you, lad, I was asking him."

"He's mute."

Mod raised an eyebrow and looked at Kyd, before going back to writing down the names. "Blimey, what they call villains these days…" he muttered. He finished writing everything down and looked up at them. "Right. Proceed into the base and wait for further instructions."

"Wait! Can't we have a little more explanation?" Gizmo asked.

Mod stood up from his chair, leaned over the counter and knocked him on the head with a ruby-tipped cane. "Where are your manners, young man?"

"Uh… Excuse me, sir, may we please have some explanation?"

"Look, duckies, I don't know why you're here. All I know is that somebody seemed to be so fond of you that they demanded you to be invited here."

"And who's that?" Mammoth asked.

"That would be me," a voice behind them said.

They turned around. Standing there was an elderly woman, her grey hair tied in a bun. She tightly held a file against the front of her dark blue uniform dress.

Gizmo was the first to speak. "… Mrs. Headmistress?"

oo0O0oo

"It took me a while, but I managed to convince the Brain to let the best of my old students into the Brotherhood," the ex-Headmistress told the new members as she led them through the base. "You are not the first here. I believe you already saw XL Terrestrial, but there are plenty more."

 _The best?_ Kyd wondered. _Does that include…_

"Actually, where is Jinx?" the Headmistress asked. "Wasn't she with you five?"

"She was," See-More answered, "But she went out to work on her own."

"Too bad. She really was one of our most promising protégés."

"Is Brother Blood in the Brotherhood as well?" Gizmo asked.

She scoffed. "No, and it's good he isn't. I'll never forgive him for what he did to my school." They reached a door. "This is where you'll be staying." The door opened, and they saw a very familiar sight.

The large room reminded them a lot of the H.I.V.E. Academy cafeteria. Half of the room was filled with a long table, and around it sat several old H.I.V.E. trainees and other villains, ranging from Plasmus to Kardiak to Ding Dong Daddy. In the walls were several doors which probably led to separate rooms for the villains. The other half of the room consisted of a huge screen with a large, lunar shaped, couch-like bench in front of it. The screen was probably meant to be used for communication and messages from the Brain, but right now Control Freak was streaming a sci-fi movie on it. Kyd gasped when he noticed something next to the nerd. All he could see was the back of a silver helmet and a few white feathers sticking out over the back rest of the bench. But that was enough.

"You will find rooms with your names on them, and then you'll just have to wait until you get orders from higher up… Hey!"

Kyd ignored the Headmistress' call as he ran across the room, thinking of only one thing. Johnny Rancid cursed as Kyd Wykkyd almost ran into him, but Kyd ignored him as well. He flew over the bench and trapped the person on it in his arms.

Angel gave a surprised yell as she felt someone grab her from behind. She turned her head, and stared straight into a pair of red eyes. "Kyd…" she said in disbelief. "Kyd! It really is you!"

"Angel…" Kyd whispered, his voice barely working from not using it in months.

Angel gave Kyd a tight hug, resting his head on her shoulder, ignoring Control Freak's complaints. "Uh… Excuse me, guys, but I'm trying to watch Warp Trek III: Return of Darf Kaan here."

oo0O0oo

"And then he said 'Someone should put a bell on you'!"

Angel burst out laughing at the idea of Kyd with a little bell on a collar. "And what happened then?"

"Uh… I kinda trashed the main power reactor…"

"Really, Kyd. This could only happen to you."

Angel sat down on her bed. She had already moved into her room in the base days before, and they were catching up on each other's lives. According to the story she had told Kyd, she had spent a sizeable amount of time in Grandgate Prison in Crown City, before being rescued by members of the Brotherhood of Evil. At first, she had been just as surprised as the H.I.V.E. Five had been, but the Headmistress had briefed her as well.

"I have been waiting for you to show up for more than a week."

Kyd smiled. "Thanks for not selling me out."

Angel gave a sad smile back. "I really wish I could've seen my father, though."

"Why don't you ask around here if they can arrange something?"

"I have. But the Headmistress said she'd have to ask Mad Mod, who'd have to ask General Immortus, who'd have to ask Monsiour Mallah, who'd have to ask the Brain, and I don't think it even got past Mad Mod."

Kyd looked around the room. It was by no means cozy, but it had everything necessary to live there. Not bad if you considered the fact that every villain had a room here, and some required special rooms (because of size or other things).

He stood up from his chair and put his cowl back on. "I think I should take a look at my own room now."

"Okay." Angel stood up and opened the door for him. "Take care."

"Do you think we're going to get any missions soon?"

"I have absolutely no idea, but I do think they'll rather give the important tasks to the more experienced villains."

"I guess. Bye, Angel."

"See ya, Kyd."

Kyd walked through the long hallways. Despite an awkward encounter with Private HIVE (word had probably reached him that Kyd had replaced him), he had no trouble finding his room, because they were sorted alphabetically. He gritted his teeth when he noticed they had misspelled his name as 'Kid Wykkyd', causing him to end up between Killer Moth and Kardiak (does that guy even sleep?).

Ignoring the frustration caused by the nth misspelling of his name, he went in. His room looked exactly like Angel's.

Kyd decided to get some sleep. So deep underground, he had no idea of the time, but he was tired.

Before drifting off to sleep, a thought crossed his mind: maybe joining the Brotherhood hadn't been such a bad idea after all. He had found a lost friend, and he felt like he was going to make a difference.

Stop the Teen Titans.

oo0O0oo

Kyd Wykkyd managed to get some sleep, despite the constant buzzing sound coming from his neighbor (what kind of messed-up experiments was that guy doing?) and the rhythmic beat that joined in from his other neighbor about half an hour later.

He was hungry. That was the first thing he realized when he woke up. The thing was, he had no idea how food worked in this place. He walked out of his room, hoping to find something in the hub room.

When he entered the lounge, it was still exactly the same as before. Different villains, same situation. Kyd was glad when he spotted See-More amongst the crowd. He ran up to his friend and made clear he was looking for food.

"I asked Billy a couple of minutes ago. He told me to look for a guy in a white shirt called Bob."

"Did someone call my name?" a man abruptly asked, suddenly standing next to them.

"Uh… Are you Bob?" See-More asked wide-eyed.

"That's my name! Say, what will it be for you, sport?"

"Uhm… What do you have?"

"We have meat!"

See-More glanced at Kyd, who just shrugged. "Okay, uh… Two meat then?"

"Jolly good, Tommy. It'll be there in a second."

See-More turned back to Kyd. "Well, let's hope this meat tastes-"

"Here you go!" Bob interrupted him, holding up a tray with what looked like two hamburgers.

"What? Where'd you get that? You didn't even walk away!"

"Great, Jimmy! I'll be in the back." Bob walked away, leaving See-More with the tray in his hands.

The cyclops eyed the burgers with suspicion. "Well, at least the service is quick."

The two boys sat down at the long table with their meal. Next to them, Adonis and Atlas were arm-wrestling. The burger didn't taste half bad, better than they had expected.

The room suddenly went quiet as a large triangular logo with a skull appeared on the screen. Seconds later, the logo made place for the Brain himself, delivering a message to the villains.

" _We… have captured… two of their pawns… already_ ," the robotic voice echoed through the room. " _Now… it is time… to start taking out… the rest… of their pieces. The Teen Titans… are giving communicators… to all the heroes… across the world. And once they have done that… we can take them out… one… by… one._ " Various expressions of enthusiasm were heard throughout the room. " _Tomorrow… everyone must be ready… to fight. Once they have lost all their pawns… we can capture their king… and victory… will be ours. Evil… will triumph._ "

 _Wow, this guy really is into chess metaphors_ , Kyd thought as the room erupted into a cacophony of roaring, evil laughter, and banging fists on the table.

See-More grinned at Kyd Wykkyd. "Tomorrow's the day."

oo0O0oo

"Right, duckies! Everyone, wait in line for your turn!"

The next day, chaos was complete in the military part of the base. All the villains were ready for battle, eager to taste some Titan blood. Waiting in line unfortunately wasn't their strongest point. Mad Mod was trying to get some order.

"Wait in line! You too, Rocket! We can only send a few at a time!"

"Why is that?" Punk Rocket asked.

"Because the Brain decided to build his base in Paris –Paris, of all places- and we can only teleport one villain at a time," Mod said, pointing at Mumbo, who was standing next to him with his hat ready. "Now, I'll read your names one by one, give you your mission, and then Mumbo here will bring you to your location. Does everyone understand?" Without waiting for an answer, Mod grabbed a list ad started reading names.

"Johnny Rancid and Cinderblock, Sector 27: Más and Menos. Plasmus and Trident, Sector 7: Aqualad. Gizmo and Billy Numerous, Sector 13: Kole and Gnarrk." As he read the names, the villains stepped forward. Mumbo placed his hat on their heads one by one, and one "Mumbo Jumbo!" later, they were sucked into it. "Fang and Private HIVE, Sector 19: Jericho. Warp and See-More, Sector Limbo: The Herald. Steamroller and I.N.S.T.I.G.A.T.O.R., Sector 22: Thunder. Atlas and Adonis, Sector 9: Pantha."

This continued for a while. Kyd and Angel watched side by side how the villains disappeared, wondering which Titans they were going to get, and who they'd be teamed up with. "Punk Rocket and Angel, Sector 3: Bumblebee."

"That's my cue," Angel said to Kyd. "Good luck, Kyd."

"You too," Kyd said to his friend as he watched her walk up to the conjurer.

Mad Mod looked at a monitor next to him. "New orders from the Brain: Mammoth, Sector 13: Cyborg. Killer Moth and daughter, Sector 16: Starfire." The villains shouted enthusiastically when they realized it was the main five Titans' turn. "Kardiak, Sector 8: Beast Boy. Psimon and Kyd Wykkyd, Sector 29: Raven."

Kyd felt a cold shiver run down his spine. He got Raven. Raven, of all people. Why her.

He walked up to Mumbo and met up with his companion for the mission, Psimon.

"Okay, let's go!" Mumbo said, holding up his hat.

"Not necessary," Psimon said. "We can both teleport." Kyd gave him a surprised look. How did he know that? He didn't remember ever meeting the man before.

"Come on," Mumbo said, "It's already bad enough that I have to stay here while you guys go have fun, so let me at least do this."

"Psimon says, it is not necessary," Psimon said as the brain that was showing at the top of his head turned black and the veins glowed bright pink.

"You're right, it's not necessary," Mumbo said to Kyd's surprise. "You can go."

"Very well," Psimon said. "Come, Wykkyd."

Psimon disappeared through a pink portal, and Kyd teleported to Sector 29. He ended up on a rooftop in a large city.

' _She should be arriving any second_ ' Kyd heard. He looked around, but no one was there. ' _It is I, Psimon. I am speaking to you via telepathy._ '

' _Is this how you knew I could teleport?_ '

' _Of course. I know your every thought. Say, why are you so afraid to fight Raven?_ '

Kyd froze. ' _Get out of my head! That's none of your business!_ '

' _Psimon says, answer my question._ '

Kyd covered his ears, but the voice didn't go away. He was struggling to resist the telepathy, and it felt as if his head was going to explode.

Suddenly, the force that was trying to make him talk went away. ' _Our target is approaching. But remember, if you are unable to fight her, go away and I will do it myself._ '

Kyd looked up and saw a small ship fly through the air. Kyd took a deep breath. He concentrated, and appeared right on top of the ship. He placed his hands on the glass of the cockpit and stared straight into Raven's eyes, but she just said something into her communicator. She then noticed Psimon, who was floating in the air next to the ship. Psimon powered up his brain, and Raven lifted a hand covered in dark energy. She wasn't going without a fight.

Kyd touched the glass, opening a portal through it, but before he could do anything, Raven pressed a button and the cockpit opened. Kyd was catapulted off the ship, and Raven flew out. She aimed her energy at Psimon, who placed both hands on the sides of his head. The black and the pink beam, from the hero and the villain respectively, hit each other in the middle of the space between them, and a bright flash made it impossible to see, but when it calmed down, Kyd could see Raven was protecting herself from Psimon's mental powers with a black shield.

Kyd appeared behind her, and wrapped her in his cape before disappearing with her. Psimon grinned and opened a portal. Kyd popped up right in front of it, and kicked Raven in.

The portal was closing, but suddenly the black head of a raven (the actual animal in this case) popped out, and forced the portal back open. The raven flew out and changed back into the heroine.

"Azarath metrion zinthos!" she said as she cast a spell around Kyd, trapping him in her magic. He tried to teleport out, but to no avail.

"Psimon says," the telepath said, ready to attack, "Let me into your mind!"

A pink beam shot at Raven again, and she barely managed to protect herself with a shield while still holding Kyd. "Believe me… You… don't want… to do this!" The shield was pushed back, and suddenly disappeared. Psimon's attack hit her, and she grunted as she released Kyd.

Psimon laughed, but not for long. Raven's face suddenly showed two pairs of red eyes, and a ball of black magic appeared around her, growing at a fast rate, and engulfing the two villains.

Kyd rubbed his head and looked around him. The city was gone, and he was now kneeling on a rock, floating in a black and red void. Other rocks floated around them, some having a dead tree on them. Next to him, Psimon was getting back onto his feet, and a few feet further, Raven stood with glowing red eyes (only two this time, fortunately).

"You have pulled yourself into my mind," Raven angrily said. "And you have to get out NOW!"

"Psimon says…"

"Azarath metrion…" Raven said simultaneously.

"Sleep!"

"ZINTHOS!"

The spells were cast at the same time, and hit each other with passion. They both bounced back, sending Raven flying backwards, but also letting Psimon fall on the ground motionless.

Kyd looked around. What to do? Soon enough, though, Raven got back up. She engulfed Psimon in her energy and levitated him through the air. "Get out!" She threw him through a red gate on a nearby rock, and he disappeared. She turned towards Kyd, her eyes glowing again. "And now you!"

Kyd swallowed hard as rocks started to float around her. He teleported away just in time to avoid being crushed, but when he reappeared elsewhere, another one was heading his way. He teleported up to five times, dodging a boulder every time, until Raven had none left.

"Azarath metrion zinthos!" She shot bolts of magic at him. He dodged most of them, but couldn't avoid being hit by one.

He was knocked back, and he rolled over the hard rock. He came to a halt only a few feet away from the edge. His head hurt, and he brought his hand up to feel if he was bleeding.

Kyd gasped. He could feel his hair. His cowl had fallen off. As quickly as he could, he looked around to search for it, but the damage had already been done.

Raven stared at Kyd Wykkyd wide-eyed. "… Elliot?"

oo0O0oo

 **A/N:** Calling All Titans is one of the most epic episodes in my opinion, but my biggest complaint was when I noticed that almost every villain got to fight Titans, except for Mad Mod and Mumbo, two of my favorite villains. That's why I put them in charge of dispatching in my story.

I mean, the Brain REALLY is into chess metaphors. Who does he think he is, Professor Moriarty?


	8. Shattered Faces

**Part 1**

 **Chapter 8: Shattered Faces**

"Elliot? Is it really you?"

Kyd turned away from Raven and placed his cowl back on his head, covering his dark hair and most of his face. "I'm not who you think I am. My name is Kyd Wykkyd."

Kyd felt his disguise being removed again by Raven's magic. "I haven't forgotten how you look, Elliot. It may have been years ago, but I still remember you. And I can see you remember me as well."

Kyd shook his head. "You're wrong! I'm not Elliot!" He fell onto his knees on the hard rock and looked down. "Not anymore," he whispered.

He heard Raven approach behind him. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't touch me!" Kyd screamed as he shook off her hand.

"Elliot…" Raven said in a soft voice, "Why are you doing this? Why are you denying your past?"

Kyd sighed and closed his eyes. "It's the only way I can live with it."

"You can't outrun your past, Elliot. You have to accept it. It's the only way to find peace. Believe me, I know that better than anyone else."

"I have lived with it in peace for years, Raven. Until now."

"Do you call this life 'peace'?" Raven asked Kyd as she walked around him to look at his face. "The life of a villain?"

"It's not the life I chose, but it's the life I was meant to live. The choice was never mine."

"There is always a choice, Elliot. You can do better than this. You could be a hero, with your powers."

"Easy to say if you weren't banished from Azarath."

"You're right, I wasn't. But I was born as the daughter of a demon overlord, haunted by a prophecy that I was going to destroy the world. For years I have ignored it, trying to outrun it by doing good, by becoming a hero. But I only found peace after I embraced it, after I stopped running from it, and only then I could use my powers to their full extent." She placed her hand on Kyd's shoulder again. "There is always a choice."

Kyd looked up at her. "It is too late for me. I'm a villain, and that's all I'll ever be." He teleported to the red portal Psimon had disappeared through as he put his cowl back on again. "Don't let the Brotherhood catch you," he said before leaving Raven's mind through the portal.

Kyd found himself on a rooftop in the city again. Psimon was starting to move again with small groans. Kyd looked up to the sky, where Raven looked down at him one more time before flying away into the night.

oo0O0oo

"She got away? Inconceivable!"

"Shut it, Mumbo. She got away from you while she was a _rabbit_ , so let's not throw rocks."

A very grumpy Psimon hovered away to his room after reporting their defeat to Mumbo and Mad Mod. Kyd silently went his own way. Raven's words wouldn't leave his mind.

He walked into his room and shut the door behind him. He walked to the small mirror that hung above the sink and removed the clothing hiding his face. He stared into his own red eyes. He hated those eyes. They reminded him of what he really was. A demon. A monster.

With a frustrated groan, Kyd swung his cape at the mirror, cutting straight through the glass. The bottom part fell into the sink with a lot of noise. Kyd looked down. His eyes laid shattered in the sink. They looked like stains of blood on the sharp edges of the shards of his face.

Kyd ran out of his room. He didn't want to look in the mirror anymore. He ran through the castle-like tunnels of the base. He stopped to catch his breath. _There is always a choice_. No. For him there wasn't.

He sat down against the wall and placed his forehead against his knees. _You can do better than this_. Could he? No. He couldn't. He could only bring destruction.

"Kyd?"

He looked up. Angel looked down at him with her bright yellow eyes. "Oh… Hello, Angel. What are you doing here?"

"You're sitting in front of my room."

Kyd looked past her at the door that had her nametag on it. He cleared his throat. "Indeed, so I am."

"Are you okay, Kyd?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"I heard you got the honor to capture Raven," Angel said as she sat down next to him. "Did it work?" Kyd shook his head. "Too bad. Don't worry, Kyd, when Punk Rocket and I knocked out Bumblebee, we… kinda lost her in the clouds, so there's nothing to be ashamed of."

 _You can't outrun your past._ It was time he told Angel the truth. The _complete_ truth. "There is. I let her escape."

"You did what?"

Kyd looked Angel in the eyes. "I let Raven escape."

Angel's mouth stayed half-open for a while before she stood up and offered him her hand. "Let's discuss this in my room, before Adonis comes across us when going to his room."

oo0O0oo

"I don't understand… Raven is… your cousin?" Kyd nodded. "But… what… how?"

"I used to live in Azarath. My mother was the sister of Arella, Raven's mother. My father…" Kyd tried not to look at the reflection of his red eyes in Angel's mirror, identical to the one in his room (only this one was still in one piece). "My father was a demon under the command of Trigon. When he heard the story about how Trigon's freshly born daughter would help him conquer Earth, he wanted to try it himself. He… He disguised himself and used my mother." Angel gasped. "My mother died in childbirth. Apparently giving birth to a half-demon isn't that easy. Raven was the only friend I had growing up, and I was her only friend, because everyone else saw both of us as 'freaks' because of our powers. Of course, at the time, we didn't know both our fathers were demons but…"

"And the demon? Did he ever contact you for his plan?"

"No. But one day, I had a vision. A vision filled with rage. I could hear Trigon's voice. He talked about treason and mutiny, before the vision stopped." Kyd paused. "My guess is Trigon found out about his plan and killed him."

Angel sat back on her bed and stared into the distance. "Wow. What a story, Kyd." She let the dramatic backstory of her friend sink in. "But… How did you end up in this dimension? In the H.I.V.E. Academy?"

"I was banished from Azarath."

"Why? Because your father was a demon?"

"Because I killed three people."

Angel's mouth fell open. "You… K… Wh…" She tried to formulate something to say, but was completely speechless.

Kyd sighed and walked to the door. "I should go back to my room."

"Kyd!" Angel said before he could leave. "I know what you're thinking, but this doesn't change anything. I don't care what happened in your childhood. We've been friends for years. I won't let _your_ past change _our_ past."

They were interrupted by someone knocking on the door. "If you're in here, you should know they're about to flash-freeze Robin. You don't wanna miss that!" the voice of Billy Numerous sounded on the other side.

"Can we go now, Billy?"

"Sure thing, Billy."

Angel grabbed Kyd's arm. He looked at her, and she smiled. "Well? Are you going to teleport us or what?"

oo0O0oo

"Freeze! Freeze! Freeze!"

"Kviet! All of you!" Madame Rouge tried to calm down the crowd of supervillains.

" _Let them cheer, Madame Rouge… for it is our time… to celebrate,_ " the Brain told Rouge. He turned to the audience. " _Victory is at hand. And for your part, a gift. I give you… Robin._ "

One of professor Chang's minions pulled a lever, setting in motion the conveyor belt. The freshly frozen Spanish speedster moved on from the freeze-ray and Robin was transported into the room, trapped inside a glass tube. There was a build-up in the cheering, and several villains raised their fists. Kyd joined them, though silently.

Robin glared at the Brotherhood leaders. "This isn't over!"

" _For you, it most certainly is._ "

"You will lose, Brain! Evil always loses!"

"Ze boy talks too much, mastair," Mallah said to the Brain. "Perhaps we should put an end to all zis?"

" _Agreed. Chang… proceed._ "

Chang pressed a button after which smoke poured down into Robin's cage, and he disappeared out of sight. The villains went quiet for a moment as the glass walls were lowered and the smoke rolled onto the conveyor belt, revealing a frozen statue of the Boy Wonder.

The crowd cheered and roared as the Titan was transported up and placed amongst the heroes that had previously been flash-frozen. " _Our victory is ensured, my friends,_ " the Brain said after they had calmed down. " _Only a few heroes… are still on the run… but we shall take them out soon. In fact… five of them are in our base right now. How about… we give them… a warm welcome?_ "

The words had barely left his… speakers?... before the door of the main room burst open and Beast Boy, along with some other heroes, made their way in.

"All right, Brain! You're going… down?" Beast Boy went silent when a spotlight fell on their heads and he realized they had just walked into a room containing an army of villains. Said villains displayed a wide variety of evil laughter as they looked at the poor excuse for a team. "What's so funny?" the green boy asked.

"The five of you? Against all of them?" Madame Rouge scoffed. "Even I find that amusink." (Misspelling intended. Listen to it. She really says 'amusink'.)

"Tell me where our friends are!"

" _Little green one… You always try so hard… and always fail so completely. This time will be no exception._ "

"Where are they?!"

"Vould you like to say hello?" Rouge waved in the direction of the hero-display. The heroes were visibly shocked at the sight of their frozen friends. "Oh, but it seems you are too late."

The Titans looked at the dozens of villains, ready for battle. "I think we can take 'em," Beast Boy bravely (and stupidly) said.

"I think you are correct," his teammate agreed.

The group of villains started to move, and Kyd Wykkyd was one of the first to attack. As he ran forward along with Control Freak, Mad Mod, Killer Moth, See-More, and many more, the Titans got ready for their counter attack.

"You ready for this, Kyd?" Angel asked him as she ran alongside him.

Kyd wanted to answer, but was a little preoccupied dodging a T-Rex jumping in the middle of the group. Kyd could barely avoid being crushed by its giant paws by rolling aside. "Angel!" he shouted, having lost her in all the confusion. He saw her lying on the floor and rushed towards her.

"I'm okay, Kyd. Let's just take this big lizard down."

"Remember our training?" See-More, who had walked up to them with XL Terrestrial, asked. "We fought things way harder than this."

"Right, lads and lovies," said Mad Mod, "Give 'em all ya've got!"

The villains stormed at the T-Rex, but after a strong swipe of its tail, they were all sent scattered across the floor. Multiple 'B of E' soldiers quickly joined the fight, and with their large numbers managed to take down the Tyrannosaur, but Kyd saw a new problem.

Control Freak seemed to be possessed, as he was attacking his own allies with his Warp Trek lasersaber. Kyd ran at him and swung his cape to attack, but Control Freak (or whoever was inside him) clashed his sword against it, and Kyd was knocked back. When he got back up, he could see the nerdy villain lying on the floor groggily, seemingly freed from his possessor.

Kyd looked around. All the heroes were being captured. Resistance was futile as they were brought before the Brain.

" _Did you think your pathetic resistance could actually stop what I have created? Once again, Beast Boy, you fail. Madame Rouge, add them to the collection._ "

Rouge grabbed the shapeshifter and grinned at him sadistically. "Any final vords?"

"Yeah. I wouldn't stand there if I were you."

Just after that, a blue beam blasted Rouge away as the floor exploded. The villains looked at the hole in the floor in anticipation, until Cyborg stepped out with his own team of heroes.

"Lesson number one: never throw me down a hole unless you make sure I stay there!" the half-machine human said.

A sudden blast made the room shake, and more villains descended into the base through a hole in the ceiling. Among them was Starfire. "The lesson two: we never give up!"

Kyd then noticed a patch of dark energy forming on the floor, before the hero he knew so well flew out. "Lesson three:" Kyd's relative said, "Your secret lair isn't very secret!"

The presence of all the heroes made the villains a bit less certain about their victory, as the Titans gathered up to fight. "Titans, together!" Beast Boy shouted.

oo0O0oo

Kyd Wykkyd looked around cautiously. The fight was getting out of hand. The frozen heroes had been unfrozen, and the Spanish twins were freezing the villains in return.

Kyd had reunited himself with his fellow H.I.V.E. Five members. In the chaos he had lost track of Angel, and the Five had decided they had the biggest chance of not getting their butts kicked if they stuck together.

"Kyd Wykkyd, look out!" See-More said.

Kyd turned around and saw a fiery figure jump his way. It was Hot Spot, the hero who had been frozen second. He hurled fireballs at Kyd, but he teleported away, causing the fireballs to hit numerous Numerouses.

"Hey, man! Watch what you're doin'!" another Billy said angrily.

Kyd raised his hands in apology. Hot Spot leaped at him, his hands transformed into fiery spikes, but Kyd defended himself with his fire-resistant cape.

The red and yellow hero was surprised by an eyeball hitting his head, and he was knocked away from Kyd. "You're welcome," See-More said.

Kyd smiled, but his smile fell when he saw a blonde hero approach See-More from behind. "What is it?" See-More asked, turning around. Wykkyd wanted to stop him, but it was too late. As he turned around, he looked straight into the young Titan's eyes. The boy disappeared, and See-More turned back to his teammates.

"Uh… See-More, are you okay?" Mammoth asked.

See-More didn't answer but instead shot a laser at Gizmo, who barely managed to dodge it. Mammoth ran forward and swung his fist at the cyclops, realizing too late that the Titan had already left his body. See-More flew back, while the Titan stayed unharmed.

"Oops, sorry See-More," Mammoth apologized.

Kyd wanted to go help his friend, but a blast a thunder and lightning worked him back. Gizmo finally decided they had seen and done enough, and suggested their retreat.

Kyd didn't want to leave See-More and Angel in the fight, but realized he probably couldn't help them anyway. The battle was a lost cause. As he turned around to leave with the others, they were stopped by the hero they hoped they'd never see again; Kid Flash. He blocked their way to the exit with an arrogant smile.

"Now's the time when you're probably thinking: 'I shouldn't have hooked up with these Brotherhood guys'. Hate to say it, I told ya!"

Cyborg, who was fighting Control Freak, landed on the stairs with a loud smack. "Sorry I'm late," Kid Flash said to him, "I had to pick up a friend."

And then, Jinx appeared. The boys gasped. "You're with him?" Gizmo angrily asked. "Traitor!"

"You probably have some catching up to do," Flash said before speeding away.

Jinx shrugged and smiled at her ex-allies. "Nothing personal." She snapped her fingers and they were swept away by a magic blast.

Kyd barely had the time to recover before he felt himself being picked up. Kid Flash carried him across the room at light speed and placed him on top of Mammoth, placing Billy and Gizmo on the pile after. Kyd saw the Spanish brothers say something, ready to press the button, and Kyd realized they were lying underneath the freeze-ray.

Kyd teleported just in time, reappearing a few feet further. He turned around, and saw a mountain of ice in the shape of his teammates. But when he looked up, his heart skipped a beat.

There she was. Angel. She stood motionless, like an action figure on a shelf. Her skin blue. Her eyes having lost their glow.

Kyd closed his eyes. He had lost her again.

He heard the sound of a machine. The floor underneath him moved. He felt smoke pouring down onto his head. It felt cold. The cold engulfed his head. His entire body. He couldn't open his eyes anymore. He couldn't speak anymore, even if he wanted to. The world was black.

The cold made its way to his heart. The world was no longer black. It was simply… gone.

Everything was gone.

oo0O0oo

 **A/N:** Don't worry, everything will turn out fine… or will it? Also, I hope I didn't shock you too much with Kyd's backstory. I will dive further into it in the future.

Yes, I over-analyzed every shot from the fight to see where Kyd was and with whom he was fighting. And it was an excuse to re-watch the episode, because damn… the part after Robin says 'Let's finish this' and you have the epic orchestra version of the theme song… It has literally made me cry on multiple occasions. Just an epicness overload.

Reviews are appreciated!


	9. Angels & Demons

**Part 1**

 **Bonus chapter: Angels & Demons**

 _The walls are thin._

 _I can hear Daddy talking to someone. It's keeping me awake._

 _I walk out of my room. Daddy is standing in the living room. He's talking to a man with a big moustache. Daddy is wearing his loose coat. That means the man can't be trusted. I must go back to my room._

' _Is that your daughter?' the man asks before I can leave._

 _Daddy looks scared when he sees me. He runs to me and places my red jacket over my shoulders, covering my small wings. 'Aren't you cold, my little angel?' he asks. He takes my hand and leads me to the stranger. 'This is the man who moved in across the hall a couple of weeks ago, Mr. Cadynski.'_

' _Please, call me Ivan,' the man says._ Ivan _, I think. That's a lot easier to remember than Candy… I already forgot what it was. 'I thought I vould pay my neighbors a visit,' Ivan says. He talks with a weird accent._

' _So… I understand you moved here for work?' Daddy asks. 'What do you do?'_

' _I vork for Vayne Enterprises,' Ivan says._

 _Daddy's hand tightens around my hand. He looks at Ivan with interest. 'Wayne Enterprises? Oh yeah, they have a… big department here in the city, don't they? The big tower?'_

' _Yes. I have also done some vork in Gotham. I vill only live here for a limited period of time.'_

' _Well, nice of you to stop by.'_

' _Goodnight, Mr. Roberts.'_

' _You too, Mr. Cadynski.'_

 _Mr. Ivan leaves and Daddy looks at me. 'Be careful, Angelina. You know you can't show people your wings.'_

' _I know, Daddy. I'm sorry.'_

' _Come here, my little angel.' He hugs me. 'Daddy's gonna make some money soon, and maybe then we can move to a nicer place.'_

 _He doesn't tell me how he will get the money. He never does._

oo0O0oo

 **I am good at hiding.**

 **They will find me eventually. I know that. But I hope that if I hide for long enough, they'll give up and forget about me.**

 **I am good at hiding, but I have never managed to hide so well that everyone forgot about me.**

 **They walk past, screaming my name. I crawl back, further into the shadow of the bridge I'm hiding under. They even walk underneath the bridge, but they don't see me. I'm higher up, on the slope going all the way up to the underside of the bridge. They can't find me. They won't find me.**

 **I'm way too good at hiding.**

oo0O0oo

 _The walls are thin._

 _I hear my Daddy working through the night. It's keeping me awake._

 _He's working on his computer. I hear the rhythmic ticking of his fingers on the keyboard. Tick, tick, tick tick. He's figuring out how to get the money he talked about._

 _I'm thirsty and I can't sleep. I walk out of my room to get some water._

 _I see Daddy. He doesn't see me. He's too busy working._

 _I see the screen. I see a picture of the man from across the hall, I see a picture of a tower, I see a picture of a vault._

 _I drink some water and go back to bed. Daddy is still working. I can hear it. Tick, tick._

 _The walls are thin._

oo0O0oo

 **I am good at hiding. I have always been. But there is one person I can't hide from.**

' **Elliot!'**

 **I freeze when I hear the voice behind me. She is in the shadows, just like me.**

 **She is good at hiding too.**

' **Leave me alone,' I say.**

' **Why are you hiding from them?'**

' **Because if they find me, they will talk to me. Say that it's all right, when they know that it's not.'**

' **You can't help it, Elliot. We all know that. They're just trying to help you.'**

' **I don't want their help. They lied to me. Everyone lied to me.'**

' **I didn't.'**

' **Only because you didn't know, Raven. Only because you didn't know.'**

' **They weren't lying. They were protecting you.'**

' **From what?! From my father?! My** _ **real**_ **father?'**

' **From yourself. Look what you're doing. You're destroying yourself because of something you can't help.'**

' **Leave me alone, Raven.'**

 **I don't see her, but I know she leaves.**

 **I am good at hiding, but I can't hide from my feelings.**

oo0O0oo

 _The walls are thin._

 _My bedroom is next to the one in the other apartment on this floor. I vaguely hear Mr. Ivan make a phone call. It's keeping me awake._

 _'It's gone!' he says. 'I left it on my desk last night, and nov it's gone! … No, I don't know who took it! This building is in such a poor state that any burglar could've taken it!' He sounds desperate. What's so important? What's gone?_

' _No… Please, Mr. Baker! I can fix this! … I know mistakes like this can't be tolerated, but please! Don't take avay my job! … Okay, I'll be there at 10 pm tomorrow, but please, have mercy. Goodbye, Mr. Baker.'_

 _I'm almost 11. I'm not stupid._

 _Daddy went out last night. I heard him leave. The walls are thin. He wasn't gone for long. When he came back, he moved around stuff in the living room. He was hiding something._

 _I'm almost 11. I'm not stupid. I know what my Daddy's real job is._

 _He's a villain._

oo0O0oo

 **I'm good at hiding. But they somehow found me.**

' **Elliot,' he says, 'Come out. It's all right.'**

 _ **You know it's not**_ **, I think. I stay where I am, in the shadows on the slope under the bridge. My red eyes glow in the dark. 'I don't want to.'**

' **Elliot, just… just get down here.'**

' **Who do you think you are, my father?' I say, turning away from the man holding out his hand.**

' **Elliot, I may not be your real father, but I have cared for you ever since… since your mother died. Does that not count as a father?'**

' **Just leave me alone,' I try despite knowing it won't work.**

' **Elliot, don't make us come up there.' I look at the two men he brought with him. They are strong. They are powerful. They look mean. They think I'm a monster.**

 **They're probably right.**

oo0O0oo

 _The walls are thin._

 _Daddy is packing things. It's keeping me awake. He has to travel for 'work'._

 _I walk into the living room. Why is the sofa cushion on the floor? I look at the spot where the cushion should be. I see a metal box with a door. What's Daddy keeping in there?_

 _Daddy walks in from his room. 'There you are, my little angel,' he says._

' _What's that, Daddy?' I ask._

' _That's for Daddy's work, angel,' he says, putting the cushion back. 'Now, I have something to talk about with you.' He kneels in front of me and places his hands on my shoulder. 'How would you like to go to school? A_ real _school?'_

 _I frown. 'What do you mean?'_

' _I'll be gone to Gotham for a short period of time,' he says. 'Or… or maybe a long period, I don't know yet. But… while I'm gone, you can go to the H.I.V.E. Academy for Extraordinary Young People. Because if there's one thing you are, angel, it's 'extraordinary'.' He smiles at me._

' _But… will I fit in? With my wings?'_

' _Angel, you will be able to show your wings as much as you please.'_

oo0O0oo

 **I'm good at hiding. But now I'm trapped.**

' **Elliot, I'm not asking you again.'**

 **I look at the three men. Why do they care about me? I'm not even really his son.**

 **One of the other two steps forward. 'You have to go into action more quickly, Areth.' He starts to climb the slope. I crawl back until my head hits the underside of the bridge. 'You can't run,' the man says.**

 **I don't have to run.**

 **I close my eyes. I concentrate. Concentrate. If I concentrate enough, I might be able to control it.**

 **I open my eyes. I am standing behind Areth and the other man. The man on the slope looks around in confusion. I turn around to run away, but they already spotted me.**

' **Elliot! Stop!'**

 **I don't stop. I keep running. But they are faster than me. One of them grabs me.**

' **Stop running from us,' Areth says as he walks up to us. 'It's for your own good.'**

 **I don't believe them. They want to lock me away so I can't help my real father. To them, I'm just like him.**

 **I concentrate. I close my eyes. I concentrate.**

 **I open my eyes. I'm standing on top of the bridge. I fall onto my knees. I'm absolutely exhausted.**

 **I see Areth at the end of the bridge. He comes my way. I turn around and crawl in the other direction, but bump into the man who went to get me first. He grabs me and pulls me up.**

' **Careful, don't be too rough,' I hear behind me.**

 **The man doesn't seem to care. He doesn't loosen his grip. I don't have the energy to teleport. Instead, I bury my teeth, which actually look more like fangs, into his arm. He screams and releases me.**

' **You…' he says angrily as he rubs the red markings on his arm. 'You… evil kid!'**

' **Take it easy,' Areth says.**

' **No! He is just wicked! Do you hear me, kid? Wicked!'**

 **I feel anger rising inside me.**

' **What else would you expect…'**

' **That's enough,' Areth tries to calm the man.**

'… **from a demon!'**

 **I feel a strange feeling in my arms, a bit like when they're asleep. It spreads through my body. It grows inside me.**

' **Enough!' Areth speaks up. 'Elliot, come with us now!'**

' **No…' The feeling reaches the tips of my fingers. I can't keep it in. It's an unstoppable power, waiting to be released.**

' **What did you say?'**

' **NO!'**

 **I spread my arms and release the uncontrollable force inside me. It shoots out of me in every direction, like black bolts of lightning. I don't control it. It can't be controlled. It goes its own way. I can't hear it. In fact, I can't hear anything. Not a single sound.**

 **The stone underneath me begins to crumble. I fall. The energy has been released. I'm empty.**

 **I lay in the debris, surrounded by dead stone and empty, lifeless bodies.**

 **I blend right in.**

 **I'm good at hiding.**

oo0O0oo

 _The walls are thick._

 _I can't hear a sound but my Daddy talking to the lady in the dark blue dress._

 _She has gray hair. She looks smart. She looks strict. That must be what a teacher looks like._

' _Thanks again for accepting my daughter into your school,' Daddy says._

' _No problem,' the lady answers. 'Offspring of respected villains always have priority.'_

 _Daddy kneels in front of me. 'I have to go now, angel,' he says. 'Mrs. Headmistress will take care of you.' His voice trembles. 'I'm already proud of you. You will become a fantastic person.'_

' _When will you be back?'_

' _I don't know, angel. If everything goes as planned, I should be back within a month. If not… Well, if it's not planned, I can't really know, can I?' He smiles at me, but at the same time, he seems to be close to crying._

 _I have never seen Daddy cry. I didn't think that was something Daddies did. But I have heard him. Back home, the walls are thin._

 _Here, they are thick. Concrete and steel._

 _He hugs me one last time. 'Goodbye, angel.'_

' _I love you, Daddy.'_

' _I love you too.'_

oo0O0oo

 **I am good at hiding.**

 **Oh, how much I wish I could hide right now. But I can't. Hundreds of eyes gaze upon me. Eyes filled with hate.**

 **Only one pair of eyes looks at me with sadness, pity, and understanding.**

' **Order!' The monk of Azarath looks around the courtroom. 'I hereby declare you, Elliot Knight, banished from Azarath.'**

 **They cheer. They're happy I'm leaving. They're better off without me.**

 **I look into her eyes. I wonder if I will ever see her again. I hope I will.**

 **I look down as they escort me to the portal. They call me a demon. A monster.**

 **No unstoppable power grows inside me. I'm empty. There is nothing left to fight with.**

 **And, at the end of the day, they are probably right.**

oo0O0oo

 _The walls are thick._

 _I cry through the night. It's keeping me awake._

 _But they can't hear me through the thick walls._

 _Everything did not go as planned. Daddy won't be returning soon. That's what the Headmistress told me._

 _I tried to make friends. There's this girl called Jinx. She's really popular. I hung around with her a couple of times, but I don't know if we could really be friends._

 _I just don't get the feeling there's anyone who understands me._

oo0O0oo

 **I am good at hiding. Even in places I don't know.**

 **I have been hiding from humans ever since I got here. I have managed to stay invisible.**

 **In dark alleys, I try to train my teleporting powers. Sometimes I feel the strange feeling building up, but I stop it before it becomes unstoppable.**

 **Now, a lady stands before me. She's the first person to find me. As a reward, I don't teleport away from her.**

 **She asks me my name. I don't say anything. I don't want to talk. I have to stay quiet if I don't want to give away my hiding spot.**

 **She asks me again. She then asks me to write it down, and hands me a notepad.**

 **I'm not Elliot anymore. Elliot is hiding somewhere underneath a bridge.**

 **I think of a name they called me. I don't want to take that name. I have to change it. Why? Why? Why.**

 **I write down my new name and give it to the lady. She can do whatever she wants with it.**

oo0O0oo

 _The walls are thick._

 _There's a new kid. I'm no longer the new kid._

 _Nobody knows where he came from. He doesn't talk._

 _I sat with him during lunch today. I talked to him the entire time. He didn't say a word._

 _Still, I get the feeling he understands me better than anyone on this school._

oo0O0oo

 **I am good at hiding.**

 **I hide in the crowd. Nobody notices me. Except for one girl.**

 **She sits down next to me. She talks. A lot. I listen. It's strange. She makes me want to talk again.**

 **I don't talk. Not yet. It's too soon. I'm still hiding.**

oo0O0oo

 _I am good at hiding._

 _I hide the tears that form in the corners of my eyes at the memories of my father. The memories of my friend._

 _The walls are thick. The iron bars are thick._

 _I hear a blast. The guards scream things. My door opens and someone steps out of the smoke into my cell._

 _She has gray hair. She looks smart. She looks strict._

 _And she looks a lot older than last time._

' _I see Sebastian has taken good care of my students,' she says. 'If I had stayed in charge, none of my students would ever have gotten captured.'_

' _What are you doing here?' I ask._

' _Rescuing you. Recruiting you. Inviting you for a little trip to Paris.'_

oo0O0oo

 **The walls are thin.**

 **I have to be careful, or Billy will hear me.**

 **I am good at hiding. All day long, I hide behind my emotionless expression. But deep inside, I'm collapsing.**

 **I can't hide from my feelings, but I can hide them.**

 **I don't belong here. I miss her. I sometimes feel the feeling return, but I push it back before it's too late.**

 **So much going on in my mind. I can't put it into words.**

 **My cries are silent.**

oo0O0oo

 _ **We hide behind thin walls.**_

oo0O0oo

 **A/N:** Well, I hope I didn't completely mess up your feelings.

Cameo of Mr. Baker! Remember him? Chapter 3?

This is a very special moment. This was the last chapter of Part 1. Next chapter, Part 2 will officially start!


	10. Part 2: Prologue

**Part 2**

 **Prologue**

The police officer looked around cautiously. She had heard a sound.

She walked around her car and looked down the enormous hole. No sign of life. She grabbed her communicator. "Paillard, vois-tu quelque chose?"

" _Non, rien du tout. C'était probablement un chat. Reste sur ton poste_."

"Compris. Dis, quand est-ce que ces clochards d'Amérique allaient arriver pour sécuriser cette affaire ici?"

" _Aucune idée, mais j'aimerais tant qu'il…_ "

A bunch of white noise replaced the voice over the communicator. "Paillard?" the policewoman asked. "Paillard? Merde!"

She ran towards her car as fast as possible to ring the alarm bell, but before she could reach it, something struck her and she fell to the ground, arms bound to her body by a wide, red band in an X-shape.

Someone stepped into her sight. An athletic body in a black suit. A skull-shaped mask, with a scar-like X over the right eye.

"Que veux-tu?"

"I want to unleash the beasts," the mysterious person said before throwing another red X over the policewoman's mouth.

Red X walked up to the edge of the hole. Down there was a nearly complete collection of all the Teen Titans' enemies. And he had free access to it.

He smiled underneath his mask. This was going to be interesting.

oo0O0oo

Red X looked at the trophy-like statues. It was moments like this where he didn't regret not joining the Brotherhood of Evil. They had asked him, but he had refused.

After all, Red X was no villain.

He was surprised the Teen Titans had left so soon. The Paris police department had taken care of securing the base until the FBI or CIA or JLA or whatever arrived to take care of the villains and probably ship them all to Arkham Asylum. Unfortunately for them, Red X had arrived before them.

He took a close look at the control panel. It was more complicated than a space shuttle. Of course, piece of cake for Red X.

A button appeared on the screen. _Thaw all_ , it said. _No,_ Red X thought. He didn't want to open Pandora's box. He just wanted some help to get him what he wanted.

And he had found his first target.

"Chang," he said after thawing out the mad scientist, "Remember me?"

Chang, still confused after his sudden awakening from the freeze-sleep, looked at the anti-hero, and fear flashed over his expression when he recognized him.

X grabbed Chang by the front of his suit and brought the professor's face close to his mask. "Xenothium, Chang. I'm running a little low on it. You can get me some, can't you? For an old friend?"

"I… I don't… get it anymore! My dealer, he said…"

Red threw Chang down unto the conveyor belt and walked over to the control panel. He held his hand ready on the freeze-button.

"No! Please! I can try," Chang cried. "I'll… I'll see what I can do!"

"Good," X said as he stepped away from the screen and brought his face to Chang's again. "But don't try anything you'll regret."

Red X let the whimpering professor go as he looked around in search of his next subject.

Madame Rouge? No, she was no fun. She took things way too seriously.

Plasmus? No, as soon as he'd wake him up, he'd go berserk all over the place.

Mad Mod? Oh, please no.

His eye fell upon someone. He squinted in thoughts.

This could work.

oo0O0oo

 **A/N:** Okay, this was a prologue, but next chapter will be the OFFICIAL start of Part 2.

The freeze-ray really is more complicated than a space shuttle. At least, according to Más and Menos in Titans Together.


	11. Rebirth

**Part 2**

 **Chapter 1: Rebirth**

Kyd gasped for air as his eyes flew open. It felt like he had just resurfaced after several days under water. He was cold. To the bone.

He looked around as memories flooded back into his mind. The Brotherhood! He had to do something!

He spotted the control panel of the freeze-ray and hurried towards it. He looked around in panic. No heroes seemed to be around. He saw a button on the machine. _Thaw all_. Yes. He could save the day.

His hand hovered above the button for a second, before it was suddenly glued to the wall by a red X.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, kid," a voice came out of the darkness. "Think twice before you open a can of worms. You'll have a hard time closing it," Red X said as he stepped into the moonlight.

"Let me go!" Kyd said, trying to break free of the strange red material.

"Promise you won't do anything stupid?"

Kyd reluctantly nodded.

"You know, kid, you could also thank me for saving you," Red X jokingly said as he pressed a button on his belt and Kyd's wrist was freed.

"… Saving me?"

"How do you think you got out of your little nap?"

Kyd look at his hands. He was still cold and they felt kinda numb. But it was still better than when he had been frozen. "But… Why me?"

"See, I don't want to free those guys," X said with a gesture towards the Brotherhood's main members. "They're no fun. They take being a villain way too seriously. They all want to conquer the world, or even destroy it in some cases. I'm just a guy, trying to survive in this hard world. And I can always use a little help with that."

Kyd looked at the enigmatic anti-hero. "Still, why did you choose to unfreeze me?"

"You're part of the H.I.V.E. Five, aren't you?"

Kyd nodded. "I was, before we joined the Bro…"

"Well, it's simple: the H.I.V.E. Five are a nuisance, not a threat. They keep the Teen Titans busy with their common thievery and pushing kids off of swings, while I sneak behind their backs and do whatever I want."

Kyd Wykkyd wanted to object to Red X's insults towards the Five, but… he was kind of right.

Red X left Kyd alone and went to unfreeze the other members of the Five. "Wait!" Kyd said. "Is there anyone else you're going to free?"

"I planned to, among others, free Cinderblock, Mumbo, Control Freak, and Doctor Light, but that last one seems to be missing for some reason. All of them for the same reason: they're a nuisance rather than a threat."

"What about her?" Kyd asked, pointing at Angel.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I have to draw a line somewhere. I don't even know the girl."

"Please? Can't you free her? Please?" Kyd almost begged.

"Sorry, kid. I don't do requests."

oo0O0oo

"Come on, Kyd Wykkyd," See-More said to his friend.

Kyd sighed sadly as he fastened his pace to keep up with the rest of his team.

"Isn't this great? We're free again!" Gizmo happily exclaimed as he zoomed through the air.

 _Free,_ Kyd thought. _But without Angel_. He hadn't managed to convince Red X to free Angel, and he had no chance to do it himself. He kept losing her over and over again. This wasn't freedom.

"So what do we do now?" Billy asked.

"Did that X guy say anything?" Mammoth asked See-More, who had taken over the role of leader in the team.

"He just said we can rob as many jewelry stores as we want. As long as they are in or close to Jump City."

"But we're still in Paris!"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" See-More said, looking at Kyd.

Kyd sighed. Transporting four people across the Atlantic and the US was dreadfully exhausting, but what could he do? He made clear he could only take two at a time before taking Billy and See-More back 'home'.

oo0O0oo

The Flash leisurely walked into Paris at the speed of light. He looked around. No sign of those slowpokes with their helicopters yet. He yawned. That was the annoying part about being so fast; he always had to wait for everyone.

When Flash had heard his neph… sidekick had helped to defeat the Brotherhood of Evil, he had volunteered to be the member of the Justice League to help the authorities get rid of the villains, since he was incredibly proud of Kid Flash. Batman was 'too busy fighting crime in Gotham', and also, Batman simply didn't feel 'pride' for his ex-sidekick. Or, at least, he refused to admit it openly.

Flash wandered into the base, arriving in the room with the statues. His eyes scanned the room in search of those 'nitwits' his ex-sidekick had talked about defeating so easily, the H.I.V.E. Five. But oddly enough, he didn't find them.

He heard a muffled sound coming from outside the base. He ran towards it and found a police officer, her arms bound together by a red X.

No. This couldn't be. He couldn't possibly be too late.

The Flash was never too late.

oo0O0oo

"Dude! Cut it out!" Beast Boy yelled at Kid Flash, who was constantly bumping into the back of his car in the GameStation game they were playing.

"Not my fault I'm the fastest boy alive," he replied.

Kid Flash, Beast Boy, Cyborg, Speedy and Killowat were packed together on the couch of Titans Tower, playing games. Starfire was trying to make Bumblebee eat suspicious looking goo and Hot Spot was in a conversation with Herald and Jericho, the latter not saying anything of course. In short, the entire tower was filled with teenage superheroes, and things got pretty wild at times.

Hot Spot, who was –as usual- powered up, looked up when Robin entered the room and asked for silence. He walked up to the screen and stopped the game.

"Titans, I'd like to have a word with all of you." The honorary Titans gathered around the Boy Wonder. "We defeated the Brotherhood of Evil together, but the world will always need heroes. We can't all stay here in Jump City, we are needed all around the world."

A file popped up on the screen. "We have received reports that several villains have been freed from the Brotherhood of Evil base in Paris before they could be locked away. This was likely the doing of Red X." A list of names appeared. "These are all the villains who were missing."

Hot Spot looked at the names. Professor Chang. Cinderblock. Mammoth. Billy Numerous. Kyd Wykkyd. And many others.

Jinx groaned. "Really? Out of all the villains, he had to free the H.I.V.E. Five?"

"But why?" Argent asked. "Why those villains?"

"I think he went after Chang to power his suit," Robin said. "I desi… It was designed to be powered by xenothium, which is hard to find without the right contacts. As for the others, it is still unclear why he chose them." The list made place for a map of the world. "Red X's actions in Paris made us realize that, though we are better together, we can't center our entire force in one city. You are all free to return to your home countries," he said with a look at people like Bushido, Kole and Gnarrk, "or dimensions," he added with a look in Herald's direction. "Titans East told me they were going back to Steel City, and Kid Flash will return to Central City. We will all definitely stay in touch with our communicators."

Muttering rose from the Titans. Most of them were debating where they were going to go. Herald stepped forward. "With all due respect, I do not wish to return to my dimension. All I could do there was fight the local fauna. I am more needed here."

"I know, but you can travel between dimensions instantly. We could just call you, and you could be there immediately."

"True, but I grew kinda bored of those endless voids. I'd like to stay on Earth for a while."

"Actually," Hot Spot said, "I feel the same way. The most exciting thing I did back in Morocco was capture a vase thief. Wouldn't it be better if I stayed where I'm needed?"

Robin nodded at the two heroes. "We had already considered the fact that some of you might not want to return. That's why we made a list of places that have no superheroes stationed there, but do need them. For example, Crown City. It's a couple of miles northeast of Jump City. The reason we need heroes there is this." He showed a picture of a tower. "If someone successfully breaks into this tower, not even Titans Tower will be a safe place anymore. And someone almost did a couple of months ago."

"Sounds good, but just to be clear," Hot Spot said with a joking smile, "I may be part of this team, but I'm still working alone."

oo0O0oo

The H.I.V.E. Five entered their old base. It felt like coming home after a trip around the world, which, on second thought, it was.

"Hoo man, I can't wait 'til we're robin' all them banks!" Billy said as he plunged onto the couch.

"Talking about robin," See-More remarked, "We'll have to be careful not to get busted by the Titans too often. Especially now that there's so many of them."

"Dude, I missed this," Gizmo said as he grabbed his GameStation controller. "Wanna shoot some vampires, Mammoth?"

While Mammoth grabbed the other remote, Kyd silently turned around and made his way to his room.

"Hey, Kyd!" See-More walked up behind him. "Already locking yourself up?" Kyd shrugged and continued walking. "Look, Kyd, I understand why you're acting so down all the time. But you should know you're not the only one who lost a friend." Kyd looked See-More in the eye. "I saw Jinx as a friend, no matter how much she yelled at all of us. She just wanted to make a difference, and after she failed to do it on the villains' side… When she left, after the Kid Flash incident, I hoped she had just gone to work alone. But it turned out to be as I feared… Jinx is now our enemy. It saddens me, Kyd. We've all lost friends. But we have to keep fighting. Or else we will spend the rest of our lives behind bars."

Kyd nodded at his friend. See-More gave Kyd one last, sad look before he went back to the living room. Kyd entered his room and closed the door. He wrapped himself in his blanket. He was still cold.

A life behind bars. It didn't even sound that bad. You wouldn't have to look after yourself. Other people would tell you everything you have to do. No more. No less.

If you don't have anything, you can't lose anything.

oo0O0oo

 **A/N:** Well, I finally properly introduced the third main character of this story. About time. Also, Part 2 will be a bit darker and angstier than Part 1. Not always, of course.

Oh, by the way, a new Teen Titans story of mine will be up shortly!


	12. Chained

**A/N:** I know, it's been way too long since I updated. Sorry 'bout that. Feel free to read the entire story again from the beginning to remember everything that happened. (I'm kidding of course, but I do reference past events a lot)

 **Part 2**

 **Chapter 2: Chained**

"Come on, bunch of snot-crunchers! They'll be here any second!"

"It would go much faster if you would give us a hand," Mammoth told Gizmo as he transported a gargantuan safe across the jewelry store the H.I.V.E. Five were robbing.

Kyd stood silently as he shoved diamonds into a bag, failing to get excited over the huge amount. He had this strange feeling of emptiness he had been feeling ever since he had been frozen. It had been multiple days, but there was still a coldness inside of him. A coldness which no diamond or ruby could melt. Robbing no longer made him feel good. Fighting no longer excited him. Was this really all because he had lost Angel again? Or had the flash-freezing really frozen something deep inside him?

"Come on, Kyd," he heard See-More say. He looked up and saw the other eight (there were five Billies) waiting at the door. Kyd shoved the last couple of gems into his bag and slung it over his shoulder before joining the rest of the Five.

"Alright!" Billy exclaimed as they walked out. "We sure got a lot of them goodies this time, Billy!"

"We sure did, Billy!"

"You might want to rethink that, Numerous," it sounded. The H.I.V.E. Five looked up surprised and found the Teen Titans awaiting them outside the store. Robin stood first, his arms crossed. "Because I'm afraid we'll have to take those back."

When Kyd's gaze crossed Raven's, there was a visible change in Raven's expression. Visible only to Kyd. She looked sad. Sad that it had to be this way. But there was no other way. She was good and he was evil. Wicked.

"Yeah well you'll have to take 'em yourself!" Gizmo shouted.

"Titans, go!"

"H.I.V.E. Five, eat 'em alive!"

oo0O0oo

"Right, let's move on…"

Commissioner Gordon looked up from the file to look at the gallery of frozen villains that had finally been transported to Gotham. He had received a list of who had to go where, and he was trying to create a little bit of order.

"Start by separating those that will stay frozen for now. That's Madame Rouge, Plasmus, the Brain, Monsiour Mallah…" The villains that were too dangerous to be thawed out (yet) were taken away. "Excellent. Now… Andre Le Blanc… Blackgate. Punk Rocket… Blackgate. Mumbo… Arkham Asylum. Angel… Angel?"

He looked up, and there she was. The winged girl. He looked at her for a second. He then chuckled while shaking his head as he whipped out his flip phone. "… Can I speak to commissioner Henry Parkinson, please? … Henry! You'll never guess what I just found… It's the strangest thing; I keep coming across her. Do you want her back? After all, she was in your jail until she escaped… Well, otherwise, she's going to Blackgate, but… Hold on… Blackgate, don't we already have a certain Roberts in there?"

oo0O0oo

Kyd Wykkyd swung his cape at Cyborg and quickly teleported to dodge a starbolt. He deflected a birdarang with his cape and dematerialized right in front of the charging green rhino. But throughout the entire fight, Kyd and Raven kept avoiding attacking each other.

The H.I.V.E. Five were holding up against the Teen Titans, for now. But with Jinx gone, and Kyd failing to put his heart and soul into the battle as he usually did, it wouldn't be long before they either had to flee, leaving their loot behind, or be captured.

The Five regrouped. "What are we gonna do?" See-More asked as they took a defensive position.

"I say we make a run for it!" Billy suggested.

"I agree, Billy!" another Billy replied.

"And leave all this stuff behind?! Forget it!" Gizmo screamed.

"We can take 'em," Mammoth said, balling his fists.

The Titans came charging their way and the Five prepared for the impact, but they never reached them. Instead, a giant, elastic red X suddenly appeared between two lampposts, the Titans running into it and being sent flying back like birds in a cell phone game.

"What the-" Gizmo started, before his mouth was covered by another red X.

A black figure landed on the street in front of them. As he turned around, he revealed his white skull mask with the scar over the eye.

"You again!" See-More exclaimed. "What do you want from us?"

"I put a lot of effort into getting you free," Red X replied. "I had hoped the 'distraction' for the Teen Titans would do a better job at keeping them busy."

"But we are keepin' 'em busy!" Billy protested.

"Without my help, you'd have been caught by now." He grabbed three of the bags the H.I.V.E. Five had carried out of the jewelry store. "I think it's safer if I take care of these," he said before stealthily jumping away.

"Hey, that's ours!" Gizmo moved to fly after him, but was stopped in his tracks by the Titans.

"You take the H.I.V.E. Five," Robin said to Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven, "Star and I will go after Red X." With that, he went after the thief, and the H.I.V.E. Five were left with only three of the Titans.

"Well," See-More said to his teammates, "Now that the loot is gone, I don't see what's keeping us from running."

The H.I.V.E. Five fled into the night, defeated, while sonic blasts and enchanted trashcans were hurled after them.

oo0O0oo

Angel sat in the dark. It felt strange to be… alive again. At first she had felt like she had resurfaced after days, maybe weeks underwater. But she had had little time to recover, as she had quickly been blindfolded, handcuffed and led to this room. This dark, cold room. Cold. So cold.

The blindfolds were off now, but the handcuffs remained where they were. She expected someone to walk in at any moment to shine a lamp in her face and do the good old 'good cop/bad cop' routine, but the door stayed shut. The mirror on her left didn't show the secrets hiding on the other side, and neither did the door on the right side of the room. She didn't even know what country, let alone what city she was in. Was she still in Paris? What happened to the rest of the Brotherhood of Evil?

What happened to Kyd?

"What do you want from me?" Angel asked the empty room, speaking for the first time in God knows how much time. There was no answer, but she could vaguely hear steps behind the door.

There was a buzzing sound and the door opened. It opened in her direction, so she couldn't see who was behind it. "Ten minutes – no more," a voice said. A man stepped in and the door closed behind him.

Angel looked at the man. His orange jumpsuit and cuffed hands. His half-long black hair and unshaven chin. The pair of black wings on his back. The pair of tired blue eyes that laid deep in their sockets and locked their gazes in a long stare. There was a long moment of silence.

"… Dad?"

The man said nothing at first. His mouth opened a little bit and his eyes softened, almost forming a tear in the corner. "Angelina?"

Had her wings not been tied together, Angel would have flown over the table, but instead she got up, her chair falling over, and she ran towards her father to close him into a tight embrace. When she reached him, she simply pressed herself against his chest, not being able to wrap her arms around him. He lifted his arms over her head and pressed her against him even more, the handcuffs locking them together. "My little angel…"

On the other side of the mirror, Jim Gordon watched in silence. He watched how the two villains held each other. Like father and daughter.

During times like this, it was hard to keep thinking of them as 'villains'.

The embrace could've gone on forever, if Angel's legs hadn't suddenly started shaking. Her time in the ice had left her with very little energy. Her father guided her towards the table and helped her sit down on the chair before taking place on the other side.

" _Tell me everything, angel,_ " Gordon heard the man say. His daughter started talking. About the H.I.V.E. Academy. About how she and that 'Kyd Wykkyd' fellow broke into Crown Tower. How she was freed from Grandgate Prison to join the Brotherhood of evil. The father didn't take his eyes off his daughter, and when she was finished, he smiled. " _I'm so proud, Angelina._ "

Proud. He said it like she had just gotten her degree. Or won first place in the school's swimming competition.

"You know, sometimes we really seem to forget that, at the end of the day, these villains are people too," Gordon said to no one in particular.

The young officer that stood behind him in the dark room looked up from the file he was reading. "What was that, sir?"

"Nothing, Marx, nothing. Just thinking out loud."

The officer checked his watch. "It's been ten minutes. Should we separate them again?"

Gordon didn't look away from the two inside the interrogation room. "… Let's give them another five minutes."

oo0O0oo

Kyd heard the door to his room open. He looked up from his book to see See-More walk in. "Hey buddy," he said as he approached the bed where Kyd was sitting, wrapped in multiple blankets with his book laid down in front of him. "We're all a bit upset about what happened earlier, I just wanted to check in on you to see if you're okay."

Kyd shrugged and looked to the letters on the pages again.

"Uh, Kyd… Why the blankets? It's not that cold in here, is it?"

Kyd squeezed his eyes shut. See-More was right. It wasn't cold in his room. It was cold inside _him_. He hoped to get rid of that icy feeling by putting himself in a little cocoon, like he used to do whenever he was scared or upset.

"If there's anything I can do, just tell me," See-More said as he walked to the door. "And Kyd," he added as he turned around again just before closing the door, "Try to turn that frown upside down every once in a while."

As his door closed, Kyd got up from his bed. He left the blankets there. They weren't helping anyway. He walked to the mirror that hung on the wall. He took off his cowl and tried to smile. No matter how he tried, he couldn't get it to look natural. He just saw those red demonic eyes staring at him. He fought the urge to destroy the mirror, like he did with the one in the Brotherhood of Evil base. He shook his head and his eyes became half covered by his messy raven hair.

Raven.

Why couldn't he keep her out of his head? Her words kept haunting his thoughts. _There is always a choice_.

Was there?

oo0O0oo

Angel was alone again. She had known she could only see her father for a limited time, but when he had to go, she still felt a sting in her heart.

 _Don't worry about me_ , his last words had been. _Just make sure you turn out fine_.

Now she was looking at the mustache of commissioner James Gordon. She didn't want to look him in the eyes.

"Miss Roberts, is there really nothing you can tell me?"

"What can I say? You already rounded up the entire Brotherhood."

"Not all of them. These villains were reported 'missing' from the collection."

Gordon handed her a list. She glanced at it shortly, but her gaze stuck to one name: Kyd Wykkyd. He was 'missing'. What did that mean? Was he free? Dead? Recruited by another evil organization?

"I see you're interested," Gordon said. "It's him, isn't it?" He placed his index finger next to Kyd's name.

"What do you mean?" Angel asked, forcing herself to take her eyes off the list.

"He perfectly matches the description of your accomplice during your little tower heist from a couple of months ago. I assume the two of you like working together?"

"What do you want from me?"

"Tell me everything you know about this… 'Kyd Wykkyd'. We have plenty of data about most of the other members of the Brotherhood, but he's still a big mystery."

"What do you know already?"

"We know he goes by the name 'Kyd Wykkyd' and that he is able to teleport. We know he went to the H.I.V.E. Academy… like you."

Angel chuckled. "Well, then you know about as much about him as I do."

"Well, any extra information would help us a lot – and it would help you, too."

"He barely talks, he sleeps until noon and he loves chocolate," Angel said, trying to ignore everything Kyd told her about him being banished from Azarath – she had sworn to keep that a secret.

Gordon smiled. "Well, that's very nice but of little use to us. Anything else? His real name, for example?"

Angel frowned. "Real name? What do you mean?"

"Don't tell me you think 'Kyd Wykkyd' is his real name?"

Angel stayed silent while she thought about the commissioner's words. She had never known Kyd to have any other name than the one she knew, but… now that she thought of it, it was a bit strange. She had just never given it much thought.

"Any ideas where he might be hanging out?"

Angel shook her head. Her head was spinning. How did he escape the flash-freezing? Could he have rescued her, and if so, why didn't he? Where was he now? And most of all… what _was_ his real name?

As Angel was thinking, Gordon's cell phone rung. He mumbled a couple of affirmative answers before hanging up and looking at her again. "It seems we have found the answer to at least one of our questions. Your friend was sighted by the Teen Titans with the rest of that 'H.I.V.E. Five' group. Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Roberts."

"What will happen to me now?" Angel asked as Gordon prepared to leave the room.

"You'll probably be transferred back to Crown City," Gordon answered.

Angel looked at her tied hands. Kyd was safe. For now. Unless those Teen Titans got to him.

She had to find him. She had seen what it had done to him when she was first caught. He wouldn't survive without her.

oo0O0oo

 **A/N:** I am really sorry this took so long to write, but school… ugh.

Reviews are appreciated, as always!


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